Masai Ujiri Praises NBA's Black Coaches, Says Raptors' Assistants Are Garnering Interest

Toronto Raptors assistant coaches Patrick Mutumbo and Adrian Griffin have garnered interest for head coaching positions, Masai Ujiri said

Aaron Rose | May 3, 2022

Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Change is coming to the Toronto Raptors coaching staff.

It's the curse of being a well-run organization with basketball masterminds on the bench. Every year there will be changes to the coaching staff as assistant coaches shuffle around the league, moving on to higher positions elsewhere. It happened mid-season in 2020-21 when Chris Finch was hired to take over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Later that year, Sergio Scariolo left for a job in Italy and Jama Mahlalela left to join the Golden State Warriors.

Calls have already been made to inquire about Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin and Raptors 905 head coach Patrick Mutombo, Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri said Tuesday.

"I think Adrian is right there on the cusp of becoming a head coach in this league," Ujiri said. "Nick has done a great job developing these guys and we encourage it as much as we can."

Griffin's name has popped up in coaching searches before, most recently as a leading candidate to take over the Chicago Bulls in 2020.

Ujiri urged organizations to continue hiring minority and Black coaches to the NBA ranks and praised the success he's seen from the league's first-year Black coaches.

"I think they did phenomenal, phenomenal this year, and nobody is recognizing them like that," Ujiri said of the Black coaches. "They only sometimes recognize when they don't do so well. But if you make the rounds, Jamahl Mosley to Ime Udoka to Wes (Unseld Jr), to every, all of them Jason Kidd, Chauncey (Billups), I think all of them,... Willie Green, all of them, I think had really, really good, like solid years for what they had in their program and I think they have to be commended in the light of that and encouraged."

Ujiri shot down the rumors that Raptors head coach Nick Nurse could be leaving the organization this summer, but he's hopeful some of Toronto's assistant coaches will be hired into better jobs elsewhere.

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