Nick Nurse fired as Toronto Raptors head coach

The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Nick Nurse.

President Masaii Ujiri confirmed that Nurse had been “relieved of his duties” in a news release issued Friday morning.

“The decision to make a change like this is never arrived at easily or taken lightly, especially when it comes to a person who has been an integral part of this franchise’s most historic accomplishments, and who has been a steady leader through some of our team’s most challenging times. As we reflect on Nick’s many successes, we thank him and his family, and wish them the best in future,” Ujiri said in a statement.

“This is an opportunity for us to reset, to refocus, to put into place the personnel and the players who will help us reach our goal of winning our next championship.”

Nurse joined the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach in 2013 before being promoted to head coach in 2018.

He helped lead the team to its first NBA championship in 2019, with 58 wins in his first season.

However the team has yet to clinch a strong playoff position since.

The Toronto Raptors are holding a press conference at 11 a.m. It will be streamed live on CTVNewsToronto.ca and the CTV News app.

This is a breaking news story. More to come.