The Toronto Raptors fired Jay Triano as head coach on Wednesday, announcing that Triano, who took over the helm of the franchise in 2008, would become a consultant for general manager Bryan Colangelo. In a press conference following the announcement, Colangelo revealed a few clues in how the effort to replace Triano will go.
Jay Triano Fired By Raptors; Assistant Coach P.J. Carlesimo Won’t Replace Him
Perhaps most notably, Colangelo said current Raptors assistant and experience college and NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo will not get the job, reports Eric Koreen of the National Post. Carlesimo was last a head coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder, coaching Kevin Durant for his first season and change in the NBA. (Carlesimo coached the final season of the Seattle SuperSonics, and was fired a few weeks into the 2008-09 season.)
Carlesimo has a reputation as a defensive-minded coach, which is presumably the reason the Raptors hired him as an assistant. Toronto has had the NBA’s worst defense in each of the past two seasons.
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