Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail penned a solid profile of Raptors interim coach Jay Triano, illustrating just how excited folks in Canada are for one of their own to take over their country's lone NBA team. It's a good piece, but what struck me was how even the recently deposed Sam Mitchell had good things to say about the man who replaced him. As Mitchell told Grange, though, he harbors no ill-will over Bryan Colangelo's decision:
"Fans, calls, e-mails, everyone's been great," he said. "I've enjoyed every minute working for the Toronto Raptors and I've enjoyed every minute of living in this city, I have no regrets and no complaints and everyone at MSLE, the owners, board of directors, Bryan, has treated me better than anyone deserves to be treated. You just have to move on."I agree that the Raptors probably had to make a change, and while the timing seemed early, it's better than pulling the trigger too late. That said, I'd love to see Mitchell get another chance, or at least an invitation to move into the broadcast booth.
On the surface, Mitchell can come across perpetually cranky and condescending to the media, but if you listened long enough you could see he was also one of the most entertaining personalities in the league. Most coaches treat their pre-game meeting with the press as a brief necessary evil, but in the handful of times I've seen Mitchell in action, he spent 20-30 minutes chatting with reporters, spending as much time needling the beat writers, asking questions of his own and making everybody laugh as he did answering questions.
Does that make him a good coach? Not at all. But in a more prominent market, it likely would have elevated his status around the league. The NBA is a league of perception (in 2006-07, every thought Doc Rivers was the problem; in 2007-08, everyone loved "ubuntu") and in another situation, Mitchell could easily be seen as part of the solution.
