Raptors dump coach Jay Triano; keeps consulting gig
Toronto, ON, Canada (AHN Sports) – The Jay Triano era is over – at least on the bench.
The Canadian-born Triano and national team coach was fired Wednesday as coach of the Toronto Raptors.
General Manager Bryan Colangelo, who just signed a two-year extension last week, passed on picking up the option on the 52-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ont.
However, instead of being tossed to the sidelines, Colangelo is re-assigning Triano to other front-office consulting duties – at least for the time being – after nearly three years as coach.
Triano, 87-142 with the Raptors, was fighting the perception that he was inexperienced to coach in the NBA. Critics also pointed to a subpar defense, although the loss of All-Star Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat didn’t help.
“For our team . . . we need somewhat of a pedigree or resume,” Colangelo said on a conference call, “someone who has somewhat of a defensive-minded presence (and) a flow to the offence.”
Accoding to the Star.com, speculation will focus on a handful of former head coaches looking to return to the top job. One NBA source told the Star that former New Jersey head coach Lawrence Frank, now an assistant with the Boston Celtics, is a distinct possibility.
Whoever gets the job will become the eighth head coach of a franchise that’s only been in existence for 16 years. It speaks volumes that Triano was the third longest-serving coach in Raptors history at 229 games, behind only Sam Mitchell (345) and Lenny Wilkens (246).
Triano had no comment when reached Wednesday night. He was in the process of reaching out to members of his coaching staff, all of whom are staring unemployment in the face when their contracts expire at the end of June.
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