Raptors coach Nick Nurse denies reports he’s leaving for Lakers job

Rest easy, Toronto Raptors fans: Nick Nurse doesn’t want to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

A rumour circled last month from Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that an Eastern Conference executive said that the Lakers could be pushing for Nurse’s services next season.

After being touted as preseason favourites to win the NBA championship, the Lakers missed the postseason entirely, finishing 11th in the Western Conference.

“I would expect the Lakers to at least ask about Nick Nurse,” the executive told Deveney.

With the Lakers firing head coach Frank Vogel following the conclusion of their regular season, the vacancy opened up. But at an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Nurse wouldn’t humour the rumours when asked about “a report out there that another team might be inquiring about your services.”

“I don’t know where that stuff comes from, and I’m focused on coaching this team,” Nurse told reporters at the end-of-season press conference.

Nurse has spent four seasons as the head coach in Toronto, winning the NBA title in 2019 in his rookie season in charge.

Nurse originally joined the Raptors organization in 2013 as an assistant coach after an extensive coaching career in the British Basketball League, NBA G League, and numerous NCAA programs. He was named the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year.

You might also like:
• Fred VanVleet candidly speaks on Malachi Flynn's future with Raptors