Toronto Raptors will not keep Jay Triano as coach

TORONTO—Jay Triano has been dropped as coach of the Toronto Raptors, the NBA club announced Wednesday, but the Canadian will be retained as a consultant and special assistant.

The Raptors went 87-142 in three seasons under Triano’s guidance, including a 22-60 showing this past season, missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference.

While Triano’s coaching contract was not renewed, the Raptors will keep him in an advisory role as a special assistant to general manager Bryan Colangelo.

“This was a difficult decision to make, but after almost three full seasons of observation and evaluation I believe that bringing in a new voice as head coach will accelerate the progress we are looking to make,” Colangelo said.

“Jay deserves tremendous credit for developing our young players this past season and our most recent win-loss record does not appropriately reflect his many positive contributions to this organization.”

The move comes three weeks ahead of the NBA Draft, in which the Raptors currently own the fifth overall selection behind Cleveland with the first and fourth picks plus Minnesota at second and Utah in third.

The NBA’s contract between owners and players expires at the end of June with a shutdown possible if no new deal is reached.