Nick Nurse Out As Raptors Coach, Strong Candidate For the Rockets?

The Raptors fired Nick Nurse as coach Friday morning. And according to reports, Nurse is a strong candidate for the Houston Rockets head coaching vacancy.

HOUSTON — The Toronto Raptors fired Nick Nurse as head coach Friday morning, as first reported by ESPN. The Raptors' decision came nearly a month after Nurse said he was "going to take a few weeks" to determine whether or not he wanted to remain coach in Toronto. 

Nurse has been rumored as the favor to become the Houston Rockets' next head coach following the departure of Stephen Silas on April 9. And according to Bleacher Report, Nurse is a "strong candidate" for the vacancy." 

"This is an opportunity for us to reset, to refocus, to put into place the personnel and the players who will help us reach our goal of winning our next championship." — GM Masai Ujiri.

Nurse spent 10 years with the Raptors organization after helping the Rockets' G League team, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, win two championships in 2011 and 2013. 

He replaced former Raptors' coach Dwane Casey in 2018. And in his five seasons, Nurse has a career record of 227-163. He helped lead Toronto to its first championship in franchise history in 2019. The following season, Nurse was named the 2019-20 Coach of the Year.

Former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is a "serious candidate" to replace Nurse. Udoka interviewed for the Rockets' coaching vacancy on Wednesday.

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