The method to Casey’s coaching madness
Raptors coach at his best when he stirs the pot, inspiring more collaboration
There’s a little bit of rabble-rouser in Dwane Casey, the most successful and longest serving coach in Toronto Raptors history.
It’s nothing done in a mean-spirited way — because the 59-year-old doesn’t have a mean bone in his body — but he is wily enough to know that provoking people every now and then is good for the soul, good for the team, good for the “program” as he likes to call it.
He’ll be in meetings or on the court and all of a sudden it’ll come to him: “Let’s get a discussion going, let’s have some creative tension around here.” Sneaky, but effective.
“I’ll ask questions I know the answer to just to get an argument going because somewhere in the middle is the truth and the right answer you have to have,” Casey said. “If we had everybody singing the same song or agreeing, you’re not going to get the right decision. Every coach I’ve worked for has had that philosophy; you start arguments, you argue with each other but once you walk out of the room, you’re on the same page.
“That’s from George Karl on down to Rick Carlisle and myself.”
There can be no dispute that there is method to Casey’s madness. He is about to enter his sixth season as head coach — longer than any of the seven men who preceded him — and has a franchise-best 210-184 regular season record. His team’s win totals have improved every year, the Raptors won the only two seven-game playoff series in franchise history last season while getting to the Eastern Conference final. He has twice been signed to contract extensions by president Masai Ujiri, who arrived back in Toronto after Casey was in place but who has never seen a reason to replace him.
“Case, man, he never changes,” DeMar DeRozan said. “He’s always going to be the same.”
Casey’s best attribute is his ability to inspire those around him to work for the common goal in a more collaborative effort than a dictatorship. Final decisions rest with him but en- gaging others and paying more than lip service to their input inspires.
“He’ll listen to all his coaches in the room, which is refreshing, it’s nice, it’s good for your head coach to be able to listen to and trust all his assistants and that he does,” said Rex Kalamian, now in his third season with Casey in Toronto after first working with him in 2004 in Minnesota.
“In a coaches meeting or in a room, a lot of times you can agree to disagree, but when you exit the room, you align.”
It has helped that Casey has basically grown up with a handful of key Raptors players and the relationship with them has grown. DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross are among the longest-serving players, their comfort level with Casey has mirrored their on-court success.
“It’s always coaching but it’s more of a team discussion,” Ross said.
“We feel comfortable enough that we can go up to him and say, ‘hey, coach, we’ve got to change this or whatever.’
“We always make adjustments and I think that’s the best thing about Case, it’s like he’s a player’s coach. He understands, he helps us, he understands where we’re coming from . . . I think that’s the best thing about Case.”
Casey’s teams have won at an unprecedented pace and a sense of calm has settled over the Raptors. His message is consistent, his delivery of that message is consistent; he stays true to himself and his players.
“The most important thing is getting the right decision on what’s best for team,” Casey said.
“Not ego, not who made the decision, it’s the right decision for the team.”