Raptors players on having Nick Nurse as a coach

Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Chris Boucher, Gary Trent Jr. and O.G. Anunoby give their thoughts on having Nick Nurse as their head coach.

Nurse's name was linked to a few coaching vacancies during the Raptors' disappointing 2022-23 campaign. He added fuel to the possibility of his tenure in Toronto coming to the end with some cryptic comments about examining his future in March. The 2020 Coach of the Year has reportedly one season remaining on his contract which only adds another question to a long list for management as the Raptors aim to rebound from a season that didn't mean expectations.

Video Transcript

O.G. ANUNOBY: I think Nick's a great coach. I love playing for him. My teammates love playing for him. He's a very respected coach. And we just all enjoy playing for him so.

SCOTTIE BARNES: I love Nick. He allows us to play freely. Gives us that freedom to be able to-- for when the drives to the basket, go to the basket. Post up. He loves when we post up and things like that. He gives us a lot of freedom out there on the floor. I love Nick. I guess we'll see what happens.

PASCAL SIAKAM: Long career with Nick and him being here like a huge part of who I am as a player. And just like, you know, like kind of like used to just him being around. And yeah, like I don't know what the future holds but yeah, I try to focus on the present and what's out here right now.

- Would you be surprised if he wasn't here next year? Assuming that you're back, would you be disappointed if he wasn't coaching?

FRED VANVLEET: Yeah. I would say I would be surprised from the standpoint that I haven't had any conversations, you know, otherwise. And I think, like I said before, I think the trade deadline this year was the beginning of all of the outside noise. And not that it wasn't there before, but like most of the noise around this team comes from outside. And I'm not saying there's no validity to it. I'm not saying that there aren't conversations to be had. I'm just-- I can only speak for me and my experience.

So I haven't had that conversation with Coach. I haven't had that conversation. I haven't heard that conversation from anywhere. And I haven't had it with management. So to answer your question honestly, yes, I would be surprised at this moment if he wasn't back next year. And I think he's got another year on his contract, right? So whatever happens, happens. They'll figure it out.

We're all grown ups in this league and understand everything's a business. But Coach has got my full support. I love playing for him. I've had some of my best years under him. I obviously won a championship. I think we got one of the best staffs in the league. And like I said before, everybody has things that they can do better, including myself. So I just focus on what I need to do better and let everything else work itself out.

- What's it like having a coach who will publicly make comments and how are those things received, those comments received?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I'm used to it now so, [INAUDIBLE] you just try and get better, I guess. Obviously you know it's coming. You know, I watch a lot of film so if it's something that I really feel like I can work on and he put it out there, then obviously you double up to work on it because no player wants to be in the media, you know, by the coach saying that he's not doing something right.

So I think it helps for sure. But at the end of the day, a lot of work has to be made by yourself. Even though if he said something or didn't say something. If I'm not doing something right, it's something that you got to fix internally and that's usually what I do anywhere.

- What's the difference between a coach coming and just saying it to you in privately versus at a certain point making that comment to us?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I don't know. I mean, I feel like it depends on what kind of player you are. If you're a guy that's in the media and all that saying it publicly probably going to affect you a lot more because you see it. But I mean, at the end of the day like for example, like somebody like OG you could say in the media he doesn't use the media, he'll never know. So it doesn't really matter. It depends on who is being talked to and who cares about the media as much as anybody.

I feel like me, it doesn't matter. Like I'm going to see it, but it's not going to change my day. You know, like I'm going to get better at it but I'm not going to be thinking about it all day. I'll tell you right now.

- I think at one point he mentioned your defense.

GARY TRENT JR: A couple times.

- What is that like for you, for the team? How are those things received when they're not just behind closed doors, but to us?

GARY TRENT JR: Obviously you just take it on the chin. For me, you know, people use it for different purposes and they affect them differently. It simply would just motivate me, to be honest with you. Again, whatever comments are going to be said, it's going to be said. I'm going to go out there and try to play and help my teammates any way I can to get a win.

But you don't really think about it too much. Obviously you hear it, you see it. You're probably going to report it but that's about it.

- Does it does it change when it's said to you, not to us? When it's said you privately compared to what that does publicly?

GARY TRENT JR: That's the thing. Usually half the time or most of the time it's not-- I don't hear it till you hear it. So I didn't-- I wouldn't know that it was an issue or a problem until, you know, you put it out there.

- Is this message getting through consistently with the majority of the roster?

FRED VANVLEET: I think so. Again, I really don't know how you gauge that. Like you know what I mean? Like I think so, honestly, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I really think so. I think also, like I said to Doug, like how do you gauge that? Because if you're only going off the results then you would say no, right? Because it's not working or whatever the case may be.

But I mean, he came in this year. He's coaching his butt off from day one. Whatever the situation was and the results were, they were. We all got to live with that. So I know when I don't play well, we lose, I don't sleep. I didn't sleep last night. I'm sure he didn't sleep last night. Like we're all in this together.

I mean, he came in this year. He's coaching his butt off from day one. Whatever the situation was and the results were, they were. We all got to live with that. So I know when I don't play well, we lose, I don't sleep. I didn't sleep last night. I'm sure he didn't sleep last night, like we're all in this together. And you know, until that changes, you know, I'm always going to have everybody's back that's in the locker room with us.

NICK NURSE: You know, you always want to take a step forward there and we never really got to take a step forward. And then on the other hand, you know, I said this a few times, there were some challenges, you know, there was quite a few challenges. And I think the guys hung in there and kept-- they were responsive, they were attentive, they worked hard, they were trying hard. All those things. And they tried to play through a lot of the outside distraction.

- Is there something--

- That last part that you said, does it assure you that your message is still getting through and you're able to communicate with the players?

NICK NURSE: I feel that it is. Yeah.