Raptors make change for change’s sake
On Monday evening, reports surfaced the Raptors had parted ways with two of their four main assistant coaches, Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner. And now everything is fixed.
With that too-easy (but justifiable) cynicism out of the way, it is a lot tougher to get at the heart of the moves. When the news broke that the Raptors would indeed bring back head coach Dwane Casey for his fifth year in charge, despite the disastrous end to the season, the idea of changes to his staff was floated. This was inevitable, and perhaps the two casualties were predictable: Bayno and Sterner were more tied to the defence, which fell from 10th in 2013-14 to 23rd this season in points allowed per possession. The two remaining assistants, Nick Nurse and Jesse Murmuys, are younger than the two departed coaches — Nurse is seen as one of the up-and-coming coaches in the league with a history of creativity in the D-League, while Murmuys has ties with Ujiri dating back to his time in Denver.
Still, figuring out exactly what letting go of Bayno and Sterner accomplishes is a confounding task. Some stray thoughts:
Sure, Bayno and Sterner were more involved with the team’s defence, but Casey was its architect. If Ujiri wanted major structural change, he would have fired Casey. That he didn’t suggests this is approaching change for change’s sake, and that the Raptors will try to play a similar defensive style next season. (For all of the talk about how entrenched Casey was with his help-heavy system, the Raptors became more conservative as the season went on. They did not get better, but they tried to alter, if not completely change, the system.)
Bayno had several responsibilities, but one of his biggest was working with centre Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas’s third season was uneven: He made leaps as a post scorer and rebounder, but his defensive progress was frustrating. Do not read this as a referen- dum on Valanciunas, though. The young centre, despite how badly he struggled at times to fit in the quickening league, is likely still the most valuable trade chip on the entire roster. There is a dearth of skilled seven-footers around. While Valanciunas must improve his defensive instincts to leverage those skills (and the Raptors must learn to cater to them more often), this is not about his perceived ceiling.
Those who are regular viewers of Raptors broadcasts are poorer for the moves. “TV” Tom Sterner’s halftime interviews, which recalled the work of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, will be missed. Of the four assistants, Sterner was the only coach whose time in Toronto predated Masai Ujiri’s re-arrival. Once changes to the staff became likely, his days were numbered.
It will be interesting to see if any recently deposed head coach, such as Monty Williams and Jacque Vaughn, come to Toronto. During Casey’s stint in Toronto, the only former NBA head coach to serve on his staff was Johnny Davis. However, coaches could (rightly) look at Casey’s seat as warm, if not hot, and see this as an opportunity to become a head coach (possibly with an interim tag) rather quickly.
More than anything, the Raptors need to change their roster. They need more two-way talent, regardless of who is coaching. The starting lineup needs to be upgraded in two spots, small forward and power forward. That is on Ujiri, and it will be fascinating to watch him manoeuvre from an intriguing, if complicated, position.