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In a surprise move, the Toronto Raptors have declined an option to bring back Jay Triano as head coach. At the end of a disappointing 22-60 season in April, general manager Bryan Colangelo had strongly supported Triano and indicated he wanted him back. However, with a fresh extension of his own in hand, Colangelo announced on Wednesday that Triano was out, but would remain as a consultant to the team as his special assistant. Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Why the about-face? “Without getting too detail-oriented, I think I was pretty clear at end of the season we had set some performance standards in place,” Colangelo said. “Not necessarily by wins and losses, but it was more about environment and direction. Jay fared well in a lot of areas but at end of the day, gut feeling of where this needs to go and how quickly we want to get there in terms of accelerating the process ... I decided it was time to change the voice, change the leader at the helm.” Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

“Most of the targets will be candidates that have a great deal of experience, somebody that has achieved success in that forum before,” Colangelo said. “Tenure, experience, rate of success, those will all be factored in. Someone who has a defensive-minded perspective, somebody who has had success putting solid defensive units out there, limiting points while still having flow to the offence. “Someone who has a free-flowing offence, but can really drill down on the defensive side of the ball which is something we need to improve on.” Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Bruce Arthur: If Colangelo wants a defensive-minded coach, my guess is Lawrence Frank, then Jeff Van Gundy. Sounds like he wants immediate results. Twitter

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Lawrence Frank, Jay Triano, Jeff Van Gundy 

Jay Triano has been kicked upstairs by the Toronto Raptors. The team announced Wednesday it is declining to pick up an option year on Triano's contract as the team's head coach and he will become “a consultant to the basketball team as a special assistant to the president and general manager.” Triano, the 52-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ont., was due to make just over $2 million as the head coach next season, which would have been his third full year after replacing Sam Mitchell as the seventh head coach in the 16-year history of the franchise. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

The fate of Triano's staff remains clouded. Only PJ Carlesimo has a contract past July 1, the deals of Alex English, Scott Roth, Micah Nori and Erik Hughes all expire this month. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano, Scott Roth, PJ Carlesimo, Alex English, Micah Nori, Erik Hughes 

Is Jay Triano going to be the Raptors’ head coach going forward? Byran Colangelo: “I think that it’s fair to say that Jay has done a great job with this team to date. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do in terms of playing the young players and developing them. You look at the progress that DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis made in his tenure this year as a rookie even though he came off of that injury, at Amir Johnson putting up career numbers, those are positive things. The Score

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

Colangelo: “The things that we probably haven’t improved upon and need to improve upon are things like defense and we need to sit down and talk and really break it down — why aren’t we doing better at defense? Why, at times, are we not moving the ball and having more efficiency on offense? We really want to talk philosophically about those things and I think that at the end of the day, we know enough about each other that there’s probably a good understanding. But we really have to talk in earnest and discuss this particular season, talk about the progress that’s been made with Jay at the helm, and then decide if he’s the right guy to move forward. … At some point in the next few weeks, we’re going to know whether or not that’s the direction we’re going. “ The Score

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

At his season-ending press conference, Colangelo strongly backed head coach Jay Triano and a source confirmed late Tuesday that it is almost a certainty that Triano and his staff will return. Senior vice president Maurizio Gheradini also needs to either be re-upped or let go before mid-June, though his fate is far less clear. Colangelo said now that his situation has been resolved he expects everything else to be decided in the next few weeks. Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano, Maurizio Gherardini 

Peddie’s retirement (and the arrival of a going-away cheque that, envious whispers have it, runs eight figures) isn’t the only thing that’s been pushed back since last month, when MLSE’s majority owner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, confirmed it was investigating the possibility of selling its 66 per cent ownership stake. The future of much of the local NBA operation, most notably GM Bryan Colangelo and coach Jay Triano, hangs in limbo, thanks chiefly to the anti-Colangelo sentiments of Teachers’ representative Glen Silvestri. The search for Peddie’s successor, meanwhile, has, according to multiple sources, all but ground to a halt; and perhaps, if the company is going to change hands in the coming months, that makes sense. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Colangelo also addressed the even murkier question of Triano. Despite the team’s struggles this season, the GM maintains he’s still a big booster of the NBA’s only Canadian head coach — adding that Triano’s future with the team probably won’t be settled until his own situation is resolved. (The Raptors have a team option on Triano for next season). “To a man, walking out of the exit interviews that I had individually with players, everybody thought Jay, under the circumstances, did a good job,” said Colangelo. “We’re talking about players who truly liked the guy, and that’s half the battle in this business.” Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

The future of head coach Jay Triano is also up in the air. The Raptors have until mid-June to exercise the option year on his contract. The players appeared unified in their support for Triano when they cleaned out their lockers last week. “One thing I would say is that continuity in this business is pretty important,” Colangelo said. “The ebb and flow of winning and losing, it happens to almost every franchise, some more than others.” Toronto Globe & Mail

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Bryan Colangelo on Jay Triano: “Clearly he did everything we asked him to do this year. He stuck to that plan” … even if his reputation or record took a hit. Colangelo gave him a ton of credit for sticking to that plan and noted that the players have a true, genuine like and respect for Triano. “If I’m not here, he deserves consideration as as a head coach.” FAN590

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Ken Berger: Sources say Minny (Rambis) and Detroit (Kuester) will wait before making decisions. In Toronto (Colangelo), source says "unchanged for now." Twitter

Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano, John Kuester, Kurt Rambis 

Eric Smith: Ed Davis said he'd like to see Jay Triano & his staff back next year. Add he hasn't thought much (yet) about the potential lockout Twitter

Toronto Raptors, Ed Davis, Coaching, Jay Triano 

The Raptors have an option for another year on Triano's contract that has to be picked up by June. The contracts of his assistants, except P.J. Carlesimo, are expiring as well. Triano and his staff have spoken briefly about the future, but tried not to dwell on their murky futures. "The conversation usually goes: `Guys, there's nothing we can do about this but our jobs, and let's go out there and be very prepared and let's not stop working,' " Triano said. "It's a trait we want to extend through the players as well. "Sometimes we forget that they're 21, 22 years old. We want to set a good example by always being prepared, and never giving up. Then at the end of the day, nobody will have a problem looking in the mirror and saying, 'I did the best I could.' " CP24

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

But as the late Canadian coaching legend Jack Donohue used to tell Triano, the only thing within his control is today. "Jack used to tell us, 'Yesterday is a cancelled cheque, and tomorrow is a promisory note, and today is cash in hand,' " Triano said. "The only one that has any immediate value is the cash in hand. "So live each day and do the best that you can every single day. That's the way we've approached this, and I think it's a great way to approach life: live every day and plan for the future, and dream for it, but you've got a chance to make a mark today, so do it today." CP24

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jay Triano 

Jay Triano, Toronto: A complicated ownership situation and the uncertainty of GM Bryan Colangelo's future aren't helping, but one source insists Triano's bosses are "happy" with the job he has done, even though the third-year coach has a .381 winning percentage since taking over in December 2008. SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

Virtually guaranteed to go are the Pistons' John Kuester, the Timberwolves' Kurt Rambis, the Hawks' Larry Drew (unless his team pulls a first-round upset, and even then I see it heppening), the Pacers' Frank Vogel (same-same), the Warriors' Keith Smart, the Wizards' Flip Saunders and the Raptors' Jay Triano, particularly if Bryan Colangelo doesn't get a new deal -- and maybe even if he does despite adhering to an agreed-upon plan by those in charge to play almost exclusively young. New York Post

Coaching, Keith Smart, Jay Triano, Larry Drew, John Kuester, Flip Saunders, Kurt Rambis, Frank Vogel 

The Raptors' complicated ownership group has to decide whether to pick up options for Colangelo and coach Jay Triano, and the early indications are that the coach has a better chance of staying. CBSSports.com

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano