The AltRaps Blog

globesports.com: Assistant coach finds his niche
As Mitchell’s friend and the most experienced member of his staff – Todd is working with his fifth head coach and briefly was the head man himself when he was with the Clippers – Todd often was in the role of devil’s advocate. He felt it was his duty. “You have to know your role, but you can’t be afraid to say what you think,” Todd said. “It’s no good to be a yes man all the time, but when you leave that room, no matter what has been decided, even if you might not agree with it, you have to have your coach’s back.”

The Raptors will miss him. Players loved him. “I looked at J.T. as the inside man,” former Raptor and current Buck Charlie Villanueva said. “He was a coach, but he was a player’s coach.”

Todd’s scouting acumen can’t be underrated either. He was the among the first to point out that Rafael Araujo might not be long for the NBA after Todd blocked the rookie centre’s shot twice in a single pregame warm-up.