Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports:
 |
The Raptors gained a player and lost a coach as the Summer of Change continues.
On the day the Denver Nuggets didn’t match an offer sheet extended to restricted free agent forward Linas Kleiza, assistant coach Marc Iavaroni is leaving Jay Triano’s staff to join new head coach Vinny Del Negro with the Los Angeles Clippers…
The news on Kleiza, who has a four-year, $18.8 million deal with the Raptors, is hardly surprising; the Nuggets were never expected to match the offer.
But the departure of Iavaroni, hired a year ago as ostensibly Toronto’s defensive guru, is mildly surprising.
Even after the addition of P.J. Carlesimo to Triano’s staff in May, there were no other staff changes planned until the 53-year-old former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies decided to leave for Los Angeles.
