Raptors praise Casey while pushing coach out the door
Masai Ujiri believes Dwane Casey deserves to be recognized as the NBA’s best coach this season, but the Toronto president doesn’t think Casey should be leading the Raptors any longer.
So the Raptors fired Casey on Friday, praising him on his way out the door.
“Nothing in particular that coach Casey did wrong, but I think it was time for this to happen,” said Ujiri. “I hope coach Casey gets coach of the year, because he deserves it. I saw everything he did here. I saw the job he did this year. He deserves it.”
Casey led the Raptors to a franchise-record 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. But the team was swept in the playoffs by Cleveland for the second straight season.
“Within the last five years, I bet they’ve improved in winning percentage every single year,” LeBron James said. “But I guess their front office wants playoff success.”
On Tuesday, Casey was named coach of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Assn., 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 lost to the Cavaliers in each of the last three playoffs.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Ujiri said of firing Casey. “In terms of collaboration, I don’t think I’ll work with a better person. Maybe my dad. This guy is phenomenal. A listener, a learner, a performer and a real person.”
After Toronto’s playoff exit last spring, Ujiri demanded a “culture reset,” leading a greater emphasis on ball movement, depth and threepoint shooting. On Friday, Ujiri said he wants his new coach to continue that style.
Hawks hire Pierce
The Atlanta Hawks are giving Lloyd Pierce his first NBA head coaching job.
Pierce, 42, spent the last five seasons as an assistant in Philadelphia. General manager Travis Schlenk says the Hawks wanted a teacher to develop their young core and feel Pierce checks every box.
He replaces Mike Budenholzer, who left last month after five seasons with Atlanta. The Hawks went 24-58 this season, which was worst in the Eastern Conference and tied with Dallas for the NBA’s third-worst record. But they were rarely blown out, losing 21 games by fewer than 10 points with only seven losses by 20 or more points.