Nick Nurse, Ettore Messina, Sarunas Jasikevicius Among Raptors HC Finalists

The Toronto Raptors have reportedly narrowed down their coaching search after firing Dwane Casey following a second-round playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet, Toronto is set to pick three finalists from Raptors assistant Nick Nurse, San Antonio Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, Spurs assistant Ime Udoka and Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. Grange clarified that Nurse and Messina will be finalists, while either Udoka or Jasikevisius will be the third.

TSN's Josh Lewenberg added Nurse remains the frontrunner.

Whichever candidate becomes the coach will be walking into a situation not often associated with turnover at the position. The Raptors were the top seed in the Eastern Conference this season and have been in the playoffs the last five years.

The one thing truly holding them back is LeBron James and the Cavs, who knocked them out of the playoffs the last three years with the two most recent exits coming in the form of sweeps. Moving on from Casey, who was named a finalist for NBA Coach of the Year, appeared to be about the failure to get over the playoff hump in the East more than anything else.

The new coach will have two All-Stars in the backcourt already with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and a team in position to compete for a deep postseason run right away.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported in May that Nurse interviewed for the position and was the "strongest internal choice" if the Raptors were looking for continuity. The same report noted Toronto interviewed Messina and Udoka as well.

The Spurs assistants can point to the success of Gregg Popovich as one of the best coaches in NBA history while touting their pedigree, but Messina was also successful on his own thanks to four EuroLeague championships as what Wojnarowski deemed "a legendary international coach."

As for Jasikevicius, Wojnarowski reported the "young EuroLeague coaching star" also interviewed for the position. Jasikevicius played in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors from 2005 through 2007.