Casey ready for next step with Pistons
Former Raptors coach inherits veteran core
DETROIT — Dwane Casey spoke frequently of his journey in the National Basketball Association as he was officially introduced on as coach of the Detroit Pistons.
He reflected glowingly on the Raptors, the team that fired him on May 11 after Toronto was swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Casey, who was already recognized as this season’s NBA coach of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, will be in Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday, looking to win the title as NBA coach of the year when the league holds its annual awards night.
That Casey is looking to win the award for his work on a team he’s no longer a part of was an irony not lost on him.
“It’s part of the journey,” Casey, 61, said of his departure from Toronto.
“I can say unequivocally that I can hold my head high from what we built in Toronto. There’s no animosity whatsoever with that part of the journey. I’m excited about this part of the journey and that’s the most important thing right now.
“This is a new chapter.”
It’s a chapter that looks to have lost the plot, not to mention many games along the way. Detroit has missed the playoffs the past two seasons and in eight of the last nine seasons. It hasn’t earned a post-season victory since 2008.
“We haven’t won,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said bluntly. “That’s clear. That’s a fact.”
Yet when Casey looks at the roster he inherits from the fired Stan Van Gundy, he believes he sees more building blocks than when he initiated the process in Toronto when he was hired to coach the Raptors in 2011.
“Our starting point here is a lot higher than where we started in Toronto,” Casey said. “That’s what is very exciting.”
Casey won more games than any coach in Raptors history but ultimately was let go because, like many of his predecessors, he couldn’t make the Raptors win in the playoffs. He built his Toronto club around a great backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. In Detroit, the assembly will be structured around a dominant frontcourt pair of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond.
“The most important thing I think is the talent level that you have with Blake, Andre and also with (point guard) Reggie (Jackson) to start with,” Casey said.
“Those three are veteran players. In Toronto, we didn’t have the three core players when we started. And then next level of guys, you’re talking about Luke Kennard, you’re talking about Stanley Johnson, who I’ve always admired from afar. And then also Henry Ellenson. Three very young, very talented players.
And I’d put Andre in that group as being young. He’s 24 years old, just an untapped wealth of talent,” he said.