Sam Mitchell got the ax last night.

I was never a huge fan of Sam Mitchell, but i came to respect what he did and never was totally against him as a coach. It seemed he got along well with his players and emphasized the right things.

Emphasizing something, and actually getting the players to buy into it are two different things though, and the Raptors have not been able to defend in years. Mitchell did a great job with a young club, bring a group of European and American players, many who could not even understand each other, together and win 47 games two years ago, albeit in a division with 3 deadbeat teams at the time.

Now that the team has such a solid nucleus and is focused on advancing in the playoffs, The Raptors need more of an "x's and o's" guy. I think that Jay Triano is more of that, although I think you are crazy if you think that Collangelo sees Triano as his long term option.

Look at the history of Raptors coaches: Sam Mitchell, Butch Carter,Kevin O'Neill, Brenden Malone, Gene Keady, Darell Walker. None of these guys have ever had another NBA head coaching job and many have never been heard from again. Outside of Lenny Wilkens the Raptors have never had an "A List" coach. Bryan Collangelo never picked Sam Mitchell and now we will see who he brings in for next year. Personally, I think Avery Johnson is holding by. We need a quality coach in Order to help convince Chris Bosh that Toronto is a good place for him to sign a long term deal.

Here's Hoping.