Sam Mitchell Fired as Toronto Raptors Head Coach

On some levels, this may have been three years in the making—but nonetheless, it's over with.

The Raptors announced Wednesday afternoon that Sam Mitchell would be removed as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, and that assistant coach Jay Triano would be instated as the team's interim head coach.

First, allow me to say that when I heard, I dropped to me knees and stayed there for about two minutes. This was because the excitement and adrenalin rush rendered my legs motionless. I would have cried if no one was around. Probably.

The Raptors are currently one game under .500. Seeing as they're only 17 games into the season, this move might come as a complete shock to anyone who hasn't been paying attention for the past few seasons.

This wasn't because the Raptors suffered an embarrassing loss against the Lakers on Sunday night, or that they followed that performance with an awful showing against the Nuggets. I actually think this was a lock to happen by Christmas break. The shot that I believe started this however was Vince Carter's shot in Toronto at the buzzer—a game the Raptors lost after being up by double digits.

It seemed the team just tuned Mitchell out after that game. They gave virtually no effort in their games against the Lakers and Nuggets, and Bosh and Calderon were even seen laughing hysterically towards the end of the Laker game as their team was still on the floor being blown out. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Mitchell was buried under the avalanche of his own inadequacies. Whether it was failure to run successful plays out of timeouts, develop players, or recognize how to implement a defensive or offensive system, one might argue that Mitchell fought for his job virtually everyday. At no point did he have the support of the entire organization.

Jay Triano has been named interim head coach and has stated that he would like to push the tempo a bit to increase the number of touches. That might just be the most brilliant idea a Raptor coach has come up with since 2003. However, the result may likely see Andrea Bargnani back on the bench, with a drastic cut in the minutes Bosh and O'Neal will be playing.

It would however be a little silly to think that Triano is going to be the man for this team down the road. He might have a shot if this team can go far in the playoffs, but I have a feeling Colangelo has his eyes on Etore Messina or David Blatt. The guy Colangelo brings in is going to be the coach of the team fans should judge Colangelo by.

Not firing Sam Mitchell after the playoffs last season may have been a way to avoid hiring a coach on a full salary for this season. Firing him at 8-9 does raise some questions about Colangelo, however. Was he just looking for an excuse?

Was it justified? Was he a bad coach? Or was he just never given the personnel? I think you have to do with what you have, and one might argue that Mitchell shoved many square pegs into round holes, damaging a few careers along the way.

The ultimate factor in Mitchell's firing might just be his shortsightedness. He would play veterans over younger players even in the days when the team was clearly headed to the lottery. He would ride Bosh for forty-two minutes every other night in games where they were down fifteen points or more. He saw he could get two wins by sacrificing Bosh's long-term durability.

He's never really been able to see past the initial impact of any decision, and at some point, he was going to clash with Colangelo—who's a much bigger believer in the long-term approach.

The attention now falls squarely on the shoulders of Colangelo—and to his credit, he's accepted it as a part of his position with this team. This team has made very questionable moves of late. If the idea was to run, why would a team trade the fastest player in the league in order to add Jermaine O'Neal to their lineup? It seems that something isn't quite right.

Other Notes

Bryan Colangelo mentioned in a conference call that he had many offers on the table, and that some would put them over the tax threshold, while some would bring them under.

If I'm the him, I consider a major move. This may include trading core pieces like Calderon, Parker, or even O'Neal. This team isn't working. The decision between Calderon and Ford is proving everyday to be the wrong one. It might be time to create a mini explosion. If Colangelo's intended plan is to run, Jose Calderon isn't the right point guard for this team.

One player who would be a really interesting piece would be Utah's Kirilenko. He is that typical glue guy who does everything well at the wing, and he also happens to be a very good defender. His contract is ugly, but if you can unload a Calderon and Kapono and perhaps something else, you might want to consider the impact that a borderline All-Star wing player could have on this team.