“We need a coaching change, man. Colangelo’s brought in good players, but the coaching’s terrible. (Mitchell) has us running around like chickens with our heads cut off. “
At least one of the Raptors believes coach Sam Mitchell should be fired.
“I’ll be stunned if he’s with us another week,” the player said, naturally requesting anonymity. “We need a coaching change, man. (General manager Bryan) Colangelo’s brought in good players, but the coaching’s terrible. He (Mitchell) has us running around like chickens with our heads cut off. He stresses shooting and offence, but then he’s always on our ass about our defence.”
The Raptors have lost six consecutive games and the player said Mitchell’s lectures have gotten old.
“They’re no good for our confidence,” he said. “We don’t even hear his bull no more. He’s lost us, man. We just shut him out.”
The player accused Mitchell of spending too much time “on extra-curricular activities away from basketball,” although he would not elaborate.
He also said: “Mitchell squabbles too much, man, whether it’s with players or assistant coaches, even reporters. He’s always looking for a fight. He never just chills. It’s ridiculous.”
The player said he would never share his thoughts about Mitchell with reporters who cover the team regularly.
“No way, man, the reporters who travel with us seem intimidated by him,” he said. “We laugh. He pisses off people every day, but that don’t get reported.
“Watch what happens now. You print what I tell you, and then Mitchell denies it and then all the beat reporters and radio guys just say you made it up and shit. And we get told to deny it or not to comment, and we do ’cause we don’t need no headaches.”
“Just quote me, man. Write what I say. It’s the truth. Mitchell’s got to go. And when he gets fired, it’ll all come out and we won’t care no more about what he thinks.”
The player predicted Mitchell’s successor will either be one of the Raptors’ assistant coaches or a member of the Phoenix Suns’ coaching staff.
•In baseball, the Chicago Cubs are opening their purse strings in unprecedented fashion and have begun to woo pitcher Ted Lilly — unwelcome news for the Blue Jays, who are trying to re-sign the left-hander … Ex-Jay Shea Hillenbrand, incidentally, has yet to attract a solid offer as a free agent. He’s talking to the Yankees now … And congrats to B.C. native Justin Morneau on his MVP selection in the American League. Kudos, too, to Metro readers, who voted for the Minnesota first baseman in a
