WNBA coach Becky Hammon declines comment on rumoured Raptors interest

Apr 29 2023, 6:35 pm

Accomplished WNBA coach Becky Hammon didn’t bite when asked about the possibility of her re-joining the NBA as the possible new head coach of the Toronto Raptors.

Hammon, currently the head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, has seen her name pop up as a possible candidate in Toronto’s recent search for a Nick Nurse replacement, who was let go by the team earlier this month.

But Hammon wasn’t saying much about the news.

“I’m not commenting on Toronto. This is all about the Aces. I won’t take one moment away from these women to talk about those boys,” Hammon replied when asked today about the Raptors’ rumoured interest when showing off the team’s new training centre, per Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com.

The Raptors had “secured permission” to speak to Hammon, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hammon, 46, led the Aces to a championship in 2022 and was named WNBA coach of the year. She moved to the WNBA in 2022, following an eight-year stint as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs.

Hammon isn’t the first possible coach to offer a little jab at Toronto this week.

Asked why he took the Houston Rockets head coach job over other options — such as the Raptors or the vacant Detroit Pistons job, Ime Udoka said that he felt his new team was a “more attractive” option.

“Honestly, this is more attractive than a lot of the mid-level teams that kind of have that ceiling that, you know, five seed ceiling, some teams that do reach out, I’d rather start with a young core group and try to build something great here,” Udoka said at his introductory press conference this week while confirming Toronto’s interest in his services.

While today’s comments don’t completely discount the possibility of Hammon signing in Toronto, it doesn’t exactly look like a ringing endorsement, either.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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