Former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was introduced as the new Philadelphia 76ers head coach Thursday.
It was the first time Nurse had addressed the media since being fired by the Toronto Raptors back in April.
He started by thanking Toronto for “10 great years,” but was quick to look forward to his next opportunity with the 76ers.
Part of that opportunity involves coaching 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
Nurse and Embiid have had a testy relationship in the past as the two battled for Eastern Conference supremacy during Nurse’s time with the Raptors. In this year’s playoffs, Embiid took a shot at Nurse after Game 2 of their opening-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid said Brooklyn did the same thing as Nurse after Game 1 of the Philly-Toronto first-round series last year — complain about the officiating.
“I saw after the game last time, they (Nets) kind of took the Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees,” Embiid said. “Then they come out and they got a lot of calls, which I guess is good for them.”
Nurse was asked Thursday about how difficult it was to coach against Embiid, to which he described it as no easy chore.
“It’s been an interesting experience coaching against Joel,” Nurse said. “We threw everything, almost, I think you could possibly throw at a guy. It was that hard for us to try and stop him.”
In terms of the previous jabs thrown by Embiid, Nurse downplayed the whole situation.
“It’s a little bit entertaining for me,” Nurse said. “I understand there were some exchanges… but when you’re out there and really in the heat of competing, I don’t even really remember them. But I accidentally had my T.V. on yesterday I saw a couple of them and they were pretty good.”
Nurse may all have the opportunity to coach another star in James Harden, though his future with the club is less certain.
Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported on May 17 that Harden intends to decline his $35.6 million option with the 76ers for 2023-24 and will be seeking a four-year contract.
Nurse knows nothing is certain, and that the ball is in the guard’s court. But also made it clear he would love to have Harden’s services next season.
“James has a decision to make,” said Nurse. “And I’d be very happy if he came back.”
Nurse replaced Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind Embiid, this season’s league MVP, but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and getting crushed in Game 7 on the road.
Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.
— With files from Associated Press
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