Sam Mitchell Says He Wasn’t Allowed to Be Tough on Andrea Bargnani

Former Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell claims that the organization made it clear that he should tone down his fiery style when it came to big man Andrea Bargnani. Mitchell felt the team coddled Bargs since they didn’t think he could handle too much criticism. Per the Fan 590 (via Raptors HQ): “I would say my biggest problem with Andrea is I wasn’t allowed to coach Andrea the way I was allowed to coach Jose (Calderon). I was a hard ass on Jose. I was hard on him,’ said Mitchell, ‘but look at the type of player he turned out to be.’ […] ‘I was not allowed to be that tough on Andrea because the organization thought he couldn’t take it. My whole thing is, if he can’t take it, then we can’t build around him,’ said Mitchell. ‘No one thought Jose could take it, but look at how Jose did.’ Asked when the team decided he should back off Bargs, Mitchell continued. ‘Early. I think because he was the No. 1 pick and a lot was invested in him, I thought a lot of people in the organization felt my coaching style would be tough for Andrea.’ […] ‘It just doesn’t seem like he has the passion for the game. It doesn’t seem like it’s important enough to him,’ Mitchell said. ‘If you go by talent, Andrea is the most talented guy. He has size, he has quickness, he can shoot the ball. The question with Andrea is how bad does he want it? That’s something you can’t measure.'”