It appears as though the Toronto Raptors have found their replacement for Nate Bjorkgren.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Raptors are finalizing a deal with Chris Finch to join Nick Nurse's coaching staff.
Chris Finch is finalizing a deal to join Nick Nurse’s coaching staff with the Toronto Raptors, sources tell ESPN. Most recently, Finch’ has been an assistant with New Orleans and Denver. He has a long history with Nurse dating back to the G-League and Europe.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 14, 2020
Finch began his coaching career in 1997 as head coach of the British Basketball League's Sheffield Sharks. He then coached in Germany (2003-04) and Belgium (2004-09) before returning to the United States to coach in the D-League (2009-11). More recently, Finch has been an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets (2011-16), Denver Nuggets (2016-17) and New Orleans Pelicans (2017-2020) in the NBA.
MORE: Fast facts on Finch
As Wojanowski notes, Finch has a history with Nurse dating back to both Europe and the D-League.
“He got the most out of his talent,” Nurse once told The Athletic's Eric Koreen about what drew him to Finch. “His teams played super hard. He played team basketball. And he won. He won.”
nick nurse's brighton bullets vs. chris finch's sheffield sharks in 2003 (sharks win 89-76) pic.twitter.com/oBU0XKO0CY
— William Lou (@william_lou) November 14, 2020
In 2010, Finch was named the D-League's Coach of the Year and won a championship with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Finch also won a Belgian League championship in 2005, as well as two British League Cup championships and the British League Trophy in the late 90s and early 2000s.
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