The Toronto Raptors have contacted Utah Jazz assistant Phil Johnson about their head coaching job and he is interested but wants to see who they hire as their general manager.

"I have talked to them," Johnson said Saturday, "and that's where it's at right now. I told them I wouldn't go any farther until they hired a GM. I just felt that was the right way to go. . . . I don't know if you can succeed if you don't have a good working relationship with the people around you."

Their is a possibility the Raptors will re-open their gm search which would put off a potential interview for Johnson.

Other canadiates mentioned for the head coaching vacancy include outgoing Denver assistant John MacLeod and Dallas assistant Del Harris.

Johnson is a former NBA coach of the year with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings back during the 1974-75 season and has been Jerry Sloan's top assistant coach in Utah for the past 16 seasons.