As Nurse returns to Toronto, only time will tell how much Raptors will miss him

TORONTO — The most accomplished head coach the Toronto Raptors have ever had arrives back at Scotiabank Arena Saturday night, and it’s hard to know how to feel about the whole thing. 

It’s as if the guy who started the mostly fun group chat ends up leaving in a huff that seemingly materialized out of nowhere: Do you look back on Nick Nurse’s time in Toronto with an unreserved appreciation for the good times, or acknowledge that at the end, it got a bit weird?

Do you wish him well in navigating the ever-choppy waters with the Philadelphia 76ers, whom he brings to Toronto? 

Or do you say, "Good luck with those guys," and stand back to see how the smartest guy in the room solves a riddle like James Harden or manages the potential departure of superstar Joel Embiid, which NBA insiders are forecasting and monitoring as the next massive sneaker to drop in the league’s never-ending player movement drama?

From a Toronto perspective, Nurse’s record is unassailable. As a first-year head coach, he took over a 59-win team that couldn’t get over the hump, integrated two Hall of Fame additions in Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol, and expertly navigated a roller-coaster run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, and made sure his club didn’t fumble the bag when injuries to Golden State Warriors’ stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson made going to that “janky,” grade school, box-and-1 defence on Steph Curry so effective. 

His next season, 2019-20, was even more impressive, as he helped a team without Leonard surge to a team-record winning percentage in a season interrupted and cut short by the pandemic. A normal performance by Gasol and a little more production from Pascal Siakam in a razor’s-edge second-round series against the Boston Celtics and the Raptors may have been in position to repeat. 

Nurse was named coach of the year, a well-deserved award for the basketball lifer who started as a player-coach in the lowest levels of European basketball to the G-League, to an NBA bench, and finally to the top of his profession, with titles to show for it at every step. 

The three seasons that followed couldn’t quite match those peaks. There was the "Tampa tank," when winning became secondary and the two seasons that followed are a matter of perspective: Did Nurse squeeze every win possible out of undermanned teams by leaning harder into his starters than any team in the NBA out of necessity, covering up structural flaws with a very specific playing style that was the best of some poor options? 

Or did he skip steps in pursuit of wins at the expense of overall organizational goals? 

On the latter front, the early returns are that Nurse might have been on to something. It’s been only two games under new head coach Darko Rajakovic, but the Raptors still profile with the same strengths and weaknesses that Nurse tried to maneuver around over the past two seasons. 

Offensively, they struggle to function in the halfcourt — they are a distant last in points per possession — and early on, at least profile as a team that will live and die by its defence. 

The Raptors' depth remains a major question mark and it will be interesting to see how long Rajakovic sticks with a 10-man rotation without getting meaningful contributions from the likes of rookie Gradey Dick or newly acquired Jalen McDaniels. 

Already, fourth-year point guard Malachi Flynn — somewhat of a symbol of Nurse’s perceived unwillingness to develop young players at the expense of veterans that was such a sore point for management the past two seasons — seems on the verge of playing himself out of the rotation after, unbelievably, going minus-28 in 14 minutes of playing time this season. 

So, yeah, maybe Nurse had that one right. 

Which isn’t to say it the time wasn’t right to part ways. 

The relationship had gone stale and some of Nurse’s flaws were looming larger than his strengths. He wasn’t particularly good at confronting his key players when they weren’t pulling their weight, and he wasn’t one to warm-and-fuzzy the younger ones or players who otherwise he didn’t deem vital to his cause. 

As Gary Trent Jr. said earlier this season, he’s already had more meaningful conversations with Rajakovic than any head coach in his career, this after multiple Raptors players noted that they would learn of changes in their roles or other issues when Nurse voiced them in the media first. 

It can wear on a group. Just as Nurse’s tendency to acknowledge his own coaching successes got a little old after the wins didn’t necessarily follow as routinely as before. 

Wearing a self-logoed hat — interestingly the NN hats didn’t seem to make it across the border — a pinky ring in honour of his Ph.D., carrying around his guitar and jumping on stage with local rock groups or doing cameos in CBC dramas were charming, and quirky when the Raptors were out-kicking their coverage, but less so when the team struggled to meet expectations and Nurse couldn’t magically fix it. 

Still, it doesn’t feel right to give in to the standard temptation or tendency to see only the best in a coach (or anyone else) when a team is on the rise and the opposite when it comes back to earth. 

Probably the best way to evaluate Nurse’s legacy in Toronto is to recognize that when the Raptors were very, very good, he rose to the occasion and allowed those groups to reach the limits of their collective potential. The team that was capable of winning a title came through, and the following year, post-Kawhi, was arguably more impressive. Had the pandemic not struck, who knows what might have happened? 

Even in the most recent years, Nurse identified a style of play believed was the best way for that group to win and had it lean into it hard most of the time. 

But nothing lasts forever. Certainly, from the time Nurse mused back in April — while in Philadelphia, it’s probably worth noting — that after a decade in Toronto, it was time to evaluate his future with the franchise, it seemed like he already had one foot out the door. The simplest interpretation probably stands: he didn’t see the Raptors as being in a place where he could win the way he wanted to and was looking for his next opportunity. 

Will the Sixers provide that chance? That’s a wild card that no one can predict. 

That said, reaching the decision to fire Nurse was hardly as gut-wrenching as when the Raptors fired Dwane Casey. Raptors president Masai Ujiri was not moved to tears when making the announcement as he was when he let Casey go. With Nurse, the organization felt a new voice was needed, a new energy, a different approach. The early returns on Rajakovic suggest he checks all those boxes. Will he be able to wave a magic wand and solve whatever issues the roster he has to work with represent? 

Who knows? But he’ll have time and the benefit of the doubt because he’s new and seems to be an expert on connecting with people in meaningful ways, which always helps. 

In the meantime, as the man he replaced returns to the scene of what will very likely be his career peak and quite possibly the Raptors' too, Nurse will deservedly be cheered and honoured. He led the franchise to its greatest moments on the floor and was a lively, engaged community presence off it. You have to respect and appreciate it. 

Nick Nurse had a great run with the Toronto Raptors, there is no debate. He’s part of the franchise’s history. 

Only time will tell if he’ll be missed or by how much.