TORONTO, 30 June 2004 — Sam Mitchell, who played 10 National Basketball Association seasons with Minnesota, was named coach of the Toronto Raptors here yesterday with a goal of making the once-mighty club a winner again.
Mitchell, 40, played for Minnesota while Rob Babcock, the Raptors’ general manager, was serving 12 years as the Timberwolves’ director of player personnel. Babcock was hired by the Raptors on June 7.
Mitchell spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and had been made the top assistant under coach Bernie Bickerstaff with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats.
The Raptors had been in playoff contention halfway through last season but were hampered by injuries to starters Vince Carter and Jalen Rose. Toronto went 0-9 in Carter’s absence and never recovered going 13-32 after a 20-17 start. Kevin O’Neill was dumped after one season as the Raptors’ coach despite his 33-49 mark being an improvement upon Toronto’s 24-58 mark in 2002-2003.
Warriors Add Title Experience on the Bench
In Oakland, California, Mario Elie, who won three National Basketball Association titles as a player, was named an assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors Monday.
Elie, 40, spent last season as an assistant coach at San Antonio and joins the staff of ex-college coach Mike Montgomery, trying to ease the transition of the man seeking to guide Golden State above last season’s 37-45 mark.
“I’m very excited about rejoining the Warriors,” Elie said. Elie spent 11 seasons in the NBA, averaging 8.6 points in 732 games with Golden State, Philadelphia, Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix. He made the playoffs in every season as a player and last year with the Spurs.
“We are delighted to add a person with Mario’s experience and character to our staff,” Golden State vice president Chris Mullin said. “He had an extremely successful career as an NBA player and knows what it takes to be a winner in this league.”
