Raptors fire Casey but offer praise
Masai Ujiri believes Dwane Casey deserves to be recognized as the best coach in the NBA, but the Toronto president doesn’t think Casey should be leading the Raptors.
So the Raptors fired Casey, praising him on his way out the door.
Hours after the Raptors announced they were parting ways with Casey on Friday – days after the team was swept in the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second straight season – Ujiri said he doesn’t think he will ever work with a better person.
“Nothing in particular that coach Casey did wrong, but I think it was time for this to happen,” he said.
Casey led the Raptors to a franchiserecord 59 wins this season as Toronto earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time. He posted a 320-238 record in seven seasons and is the franchise’s winningest coach.
“I hope Coach Casey gets coach of the year, because he deserves it,” Ujiri said. “I saw everything he did here. I saw the job he did this year. He deserves it.”
But that wasn’t enough for the 61year-old Casey to keep his job.
On Tuesday, Casey was named coach of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, an award voted on by NBA head coaches. A media panel voted separately for the NBA’s coach of the year award, which will be announced June 25.
Under Casey, the Raptors won four Atlantic Division titles and advanced to the playoffs in five consecutive seasons. But Toronto couldn’t get past Cleveland, losing to LeBron James and the Cavs in each of the past three playoffs.
Ujiri said he spent “countless hours” evaluating the team in the days following this year’s defeat before deciding to fire Casey.
Ujiri had little to say about who his next head coach might be, but said he would be “open” to considering a wide range of potential candidates.
Ujiri denied reports that Casey had precipitated his firing by seeking a contract extension. Casey had one year remaining on a three-year, $18 million dollar extension he received in June, 2016.
Hawks tab Pierce: The Atlanta Hawks are giving Lloyd Pierce his first head coaching job in the NBA, choosing a man who has been an assistant with Philadelphia and Memphis to rebuild the franchise.
General manager Travis Schlenk said the Hawks wanted a teacher to develop their young core and feel Pierce checks every box.
Pierce, 42, spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach in Philadelphia where the 76ers just reached the Eastern Conference semifinals after finishing third in the conference with a 52-30 record.
He replaces Mike Budenholzer who left after the Hawks went 24-58.