In his tailored gray suit and matching canary yellow tie and pocket-square, Sam Mitchell looked, as always, like the best-dressed cat in the Air Canada Centre. What's changed, he said, is the man beneath the elegant exterior.
Two years after the Toronto Raptors fired him as head coach, Mitchell says he's wiser, more mellow, a better listener, and -- dare he even say it?
"I'm kind-of off bad words," said Mitchell, now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets, who narrowly lost to the Toronto Raptors 98-92 in a close-fought matchup between two struggling squads, inflating Toronto's win-loss record to 10-17.
Friday was Mitchell's first time in the ACC since general manager Bryan Colangelo sacked him 17 games into the 2008-09 season. That ended a four-plus year term in Toronto where he steered the Raptors to two playoff runs and an Atlantic Division championship in 2006-07, earning NBA Coach of the Year honors.
But for those closest to him during that time, Mitchell is perhaps best remembered as a golf nut and family man with an outsized personality, uncensored mouth, and uncanny knack for getting under people's skin.
"I had good moments with Sam, and bad moments, too," said a smiling Jose Calderon, Toronto's Spanish point guard who played his rookie season under Mitchell. "I think it was my English. He didn't understand me."
"I don't know if Sam knew his name was Jose," added Jay Triano, Mitchell's assistant coach at the time. "He was just, 'Young rook.' And then Andrea came in and it was, 'Big rook.'"
Mitchell smiled when he heard that. "It was tough for Jose. Because he was with me those first two years when I was really kind-of crazy."
It felt good to be back, Mitchell said. While lunch with Colangelo wasn't on the agenda, he hugged his former rookies and took obvious delight in reconnecting with a stream of former acquaintances, from security guards to coaches to reporters, who approached to say hello. Being in Toronto was also a reminder of how much he feels he's changed.
"I was a young coach and I was very emotional at the time. And a lot of times I didn't think things trough clearly before it came out of my mouth," he said.
"I thought it was kind-of amusing at the time, and then when [MLSE chairman and part-owner Larry Tanenbaum]and [outgoing CEO of MLSE]Richard Petty would call me in their office, and kinda get on me about it, I didn't think it was so funny then."
Two years removed from the frenetic pace of an NBA season provides plenty of time to reflect. Mitchell said he watched a lot of basketball, ran a camp or two, and enjoyed seeing his four daughters enter high school and college. He also had a stint as a television commentator.
"You have to actually know what you're talking about when you're throwing out stats and numbers. So, it gave me a different appreciation for how little you guys really do work," he told a crowd of reporters during a low key scrum before the game.
He laughed. "I had to get one in."
Injury Update
Bargnani and Calderon returned to the Raptors' starting lineup Friday, after Calderon missed four straight games with a sore foot and painful knees forced Bargnani to sit out of Wednesday's one-sided defeat to the Chicago Bulls.
"I think the [injuries]were bothering them," Triano said after the game. "They just played through it."
Indeed. Bargnani limped noticeably at one point, but charged all night, contributing a game-high 32 points, including key jumpers during an intense forth quarter, where the lead changed five times and both teams led by six points or more.
Calderon announced his return with 14 assists and 15 points, although Triano said the Nets deserved credit for making his job difficult. "This is one of the first teams that picked up our point guard in the front court and [didn't let]us run the way we like to run."
Credit also went to Linas Kleiza, who played a whopping 45 minutes and sat icing his feet and right knee afterward. Triano said Kleiza's 18 points and 12 rebounds were "huge," notably because he took the pressure off Bargnani and allowed him to ease into the game. "The big thing for us was his rebounding," Triano said.
Leandro Barbosa (10 points) clinched the game with a three-pointer with 14 seconds left.
Sonny Weems missed Friday's matchup because of back spasms, which he suffered after the Raptors had their morning shoot-around practice.
Up next
The situation doesn't get easier for the Raptors, who host Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.