Is Rico Hines coming to the Toronto Raptors? Many Raptor fans are excited by an IG post Rico posted today. He basically said goodbye to the Sacramento Kings whom he was an assistant coach for and was excited about having a new start. So how does this relate to the Toronto Raptors? Well, Raptors assistant coach Earl Watson responded to his IG post by saying “Welcome to Toronto my Brotha!” However, nothing has been confirmed by the Toronto Raptors or anyone else. Only Blake Murphy of Sportsnet mentioned on his Twitter account of a possible hiring of Rico Hines based on his IG post. UPDATE: Looks like Jason McIntyre of fox sports and FS1 has said on his Twitter account said that the Raptors have added Rico Hines to their staff. UPDATE #2: Looks like Micheal Grange of Sportsnet has also confirmed his hiring on his twitter account.
Rico Hines to Toronto Raptors – Who is Rico Hines?
Rico Hines is a famous development coach who is well known for his summer runs in which he puts players into intense basketball games. According to a SLAM article, he has had many players involved in his summer runs such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and even Lebron James at times. The same article said that “Hines is hands-on during his sessions. In an individual or a group setting, he takes pride in being meticulous and making sure everything—from the dribble to the footwork to the finish—is on point.” So sounds like a potential good hiring that should benefit the Raptors. However, there is more to it.
Rico Hines Has Trained Many Raptors Players
Yes, Rico Hines has trained few Raptors players such has Fred Van Fleet, OG Anunoby, and Norman Powell to just name a few. However, the Raptor player that he has put the most effort into and raves about is Pascal Siakam. Noticed what he said about him from the same Slam article: “One thing about Pascal is that he’s always had a winning, contagious basketball spirit. He just always made winning basketball plays, had a good basketball IQ, played hard …”
Conclusion
This potential hiring could be a boon for the Raptors as Rico Hines has had a big role in the Raptors core players. He has even trained Kevin Durant which might be very important if the Raptors do trade for him. It also seems he has the respect of many NBA players including many current Raptors. This could mean a big leap in development for the Raptors, especially if he helps out some of the new players on the club. It is a definite win win for the Raptors!