Who’s on the short list to be Raptors head coach? Two front-runners dropped from second interview round

As the Raptors wrestle with philosophical issues about the direction the franchise will take, two presumed favourites to get serious consideration as the team’s head coach have not advanced past preliminary discussions.

According to multiple NBA sources, neither ex-Brooklyn head coach and Canadian icon Steve Nash nor Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez have been invited for a second interview for the Toronto job that has been vacant since Nick Nurse was let go in late April.

Given the pace of the process and the exhaustive nature of the search being conducted by Raptors vice-chairman and president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster, it’s not inconceivable they could revisit either or both.

And given the uncertainty of what the team will look like when training camp opens in late September, keeping open all options makes sense. If no one in a current group of finalists has the skill set Ujiri and Webster want, there’s no reason they couldn’t backtrack and talk again with a number of candidates.

Who remains in the running is a deeply held secret with only snippets leaking out in dribs and drabs. The Raptors organization is widely regarded as one of the most secretive in the NBA and possible coaches and their agents would surely be aware of Ujiri’s aversion to any news getting out into the public realm.

One name being bandied about last week in some NBA circles was current Memphis assistant Darko Rajaković, and reports from Italy last week said ex-Raptors assistant and current Virtus Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo was among the finalists for the job.

The Raptors did conduct interviews last week, several NBA sources said, but even the number of them has not been confirmed.

But the number doesn’t really matter; a list can be expanded or contracted on a whim. There are 30 NBA head coaching jobs, and a candidate for the last one that is open isn’t going to take himself of herself out of the running because the selection process is taking a month or two.

And there is no immediate need to fill the job. The Raptors’ draft preparation is being handled, as it always is, by assistant general manager and vice-president of player personnel Dan Tolzman and his staff. A head coach is always an ancillary part of that process.

The many questions about the roster for next season and the direction the team will go on the court is certainly part of the consideration of what kind of coach the Raptors will want.

If they decide to bring back key free agents Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl and Gary Trent Jr. and add to the existing group, it would requite a coach with some measure of high-level NBA experience. If they think it’s best to let one, two or all three free agents go and begin some measure of rebuilding process, it would require a coach with a different set of skills.

And if they are still wrestling with that basic decision, or if they are doing additional back-channel due diligence about what player moves are likely when free agency opens in a few weeks, it’s only logical that a coaching decision can wait.

A resolution to the coaching vacancy soon would placate fans and end speculation but that’s the last thing Ujiri and Webster are worried about. A new coach — a pricey, multi-year commitment — is the biggest decision the two have faced in five years.

Figuring out who to draft or who to sign as late-summer free agents pales in comparison to figuring out who will coach whatever roster is in place for the 2023-24 season.

Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps