Raptors' new head coach plans to hold DeRozan accountable on defense

For such an uneventful hire, newly promoted Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is saying a lot of what the fans want to hear.

Nurse is currently coaching some of the younger Raptors players at Las Vegas Summer League, but still made time to challenge his longest-tenured veteran in DeMar DeRozan to be more engaged on the defensive end.

"I'm more concerned on DeMar, and I've already talked to him about this, is that he becomes a little bit more focused, defensively," Nurse explained on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

"Some of the experimentation we were talking about, maybe instead of hiding him in a regular-season game on a poor offensive player in December, maybe we're going to throw him on an All-Star. Maybe it costs us a little bit, but maybe he learns a thing or two that will help him down the line."

Despite having all the athletic ability to defend effectively, DeRozan has consistently graded out as a below-average defender throughout his nine-year career. His primary focus is to be the top scoring option for the Raptors, conserving his energy accordingly and taking a lackadaisical and borderline lazy approach on the other end.

This concession was begrudgingly allowed under head coach Dwane Casey, who oversaw DeRozan's development from a raw slasher to an All-NBA talent over the last seven years. However, both Nurse and DeRozan agree that he needs to be more accountable on defense to unlock more of his potential.

"We need to challenge him on that end of the floor, we need to hold him a little bit more accountable. We're gonna do that, and he's onboard with that," Nurse said.