Don't Play It Again, Sam
The axe finally fell on Sam Mitchell, a man who saved his job a couple of years ago by doing such a great job that he won Coach of the Year and made it impossible for his GM Bryan Colangelo to fire him. The Raptors took a step back, record-wise, last season and you would have thought that Mitchell would have been gone this past off-season. Perhaps Colangelo didn't get along with them but there were two former Suns coaches in Scott Skiles and Mike D'Antoni available then and now, well, who knows who is out there.
And while I know everyone is tired of 2010 talk, that has to weight heavily on the mind of Bryan as he looks to his next coach. He can't really get a task master who could possibly help make Chris Bosh's decision to bolt Toronto even easier.
As for Mr. Mitchell, he should have no problem finding a new gig. The Timberwolves are currently employeeing the worst coach in the league and should be impressed by the job that Mitchell has done with Chris Bosh. The Thunder also are looking for a coach and Mitchell could be a good fit.
Toronto's focus now has to move to Bryan Colangelo himself. Bargnani didn't exactly pan out (although he's showing signs of being a solid role player), he overpaid Kapono, and rolled the dice on Jermaine O'Neal. While the Raptors haven't exactly been playing consistent or all that well, the blame can't all be place on the shoulders of Sam Mitchell.
