The Toronto Raptors are interested in appointing current Virtus Bologna and Spanish national team boss, Sergio Scariolo, as their new head coach ahead of next season.
Should they hire the Italian, Scariolo would become only the second European in history to be head coach of an NBA team.
The only European coach to have been in charge of an NBA team was Igor Kokoskov, who had a brief stint at the Phoenix Suns and is now assistant coach at the Dallas Mavericks.
Scariolo met on Thursday at the Majestic Hotel in Bologna with the Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Wester, who consider him one of the leading candidates for the bench.
They do know him well, as he served as Nick Nurse‘s assistant coach from 2018 to 2021 at Toronto. The Raptors are in search of a new coach after parting ways with Nurse, who ended his five-year spell in charge of the team with a 227-163 record and three playoff appearances in five seasons.
In one of those appearances, Toronto won the ring after beating Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
This season, however, the Raptors failed to reach the playoffs after losing to the Chicago Bulls at home in the first game of the play-in tournament.
Sergio Scariolo to return to Toronto?
Scariolo is aware of what awaits him in Canada, as the Raptors are looking to carry out a slight rebuilding of the roster.
He also knows how to handle himself within the franchise, as he was there in the glory period as well as the rough COVID-19 era.
The meeting between the two parties was just a first contact before the Raptors make a final decision.
Meanwhile, Toronto have held virtual interviews with former guard and current NBA analyst, J.J. Redick.
The list of candidates also includes Becky Hammon (Vegas Aces), Patrick Mutombo (Raptors 905), Adrian Griffin (Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach), Kenny Atkinson (Warriors assistant coach), Charles Lee (Miami Heat assistant coach) and Jordi Fernandez (Sacramento Kings assistant coach).