RAPTORS OPEN off-season of uncertainty by firing coach Casey

end, and we will figure out a way to move on, a new voice and just new everything in terms of that position.” “CULTURE RESET” Casey, 61, had coached Toronto since 2011 and led the team to five straight playoff appearances, four division titles and the only three 50-win seasons in franchise history.

After being eliminated by Cleveland during the 2017 playoffs Ujiri said Toronto needed a “culture reset” and so it was Casey who implemented a more balanced attack and the best bench in the league during the regular season.

However, Casey and his players came up short when it mattered most and simply had no answers for the mismatches created by a Cavs team that have been to the last three NBA Finals and won the title in 2016.

Still, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said ahead of his team’s series-clinching win that it would be “absurd” and “crazy” if the Raptors fired Casey for losing in the conference semifinal.

At Casey’s season-ending news conference earlier this week, he said he understood how the criticism fell on him after the type of series Toronto endured.

“It’s part of the business,” Casey said. “I’m a big boy. I’ve been through it. I know where we started here. I know what we’ve accomplished.

“It’s part of the territory. I take it, I accept it. I’m not running from it... I’m an easy target... I don’t feel sorry for myself, let’s put it that way.”