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Nobody knows what Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri‘s plan is for the franchise. However, he does seem to have some sort of plan, as his catalog of organizational decisions are beginning to form a distinct pattern.
The latest news: assistant coaches Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner have been let go, continuing a trend Ujiri started when the Raptors first brought him on board. Ujiri’s first moves as GM of the Raptors were to fire various assistant coaches and miscellaneous staff members, followed by replacing them with his “guys” like Nick Nurse. On the one hand, this seems like a rather discriminatory and unfair way of running an organization – but on the other, it’s clear Ujiri has a vision for the franchise.
As always when evaluating the decision to fire someone, what’s most important is how effective a replacement you can find; the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s decision to fire Scott Brooks can’t be completely panned or praised until we see how Billy Donovan does with the team next season. For the Raptors, Ujiri could go one of two ways:
1) hire a big name in the coaching world, such as the recently-fired Monty Williams.
2) hire an unknown coach with whom Ujiri has had personal experience.
Ujiri’s track record with the Raptors strongly points to option No. 2 being the case; he did so with Nurse in 2013, and he made an analogous move by taking Bruno Caboclo in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft.
Personally, I’m open to either of these possibilities working out. The Raptors, in theory, are a team on the rise, and I imagine sought-after coaches would view the position favorably. Toronto’s also a nice city, should that matter. On the other hand, sometimes the best way to succeed in the NBA is to look outside the NBA sphere of personnel, and Ujiri has a host of international connections that would be interested in a job at the league’s nominally international team. The San Antonio Spurs have done that for years, and done it to great success.
Either way, I’m excited to see what Ujiri does with the coaching staff. Perhaps the new hires will mask some of head coach Dwane Casey‘s well-documented problems and play a part in taking this franchise to the next level.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
