When I play Madden NFL I have a tendency to ignore all logic and trust my gut. Problem is that my gut is usually wrong. Unfortunately, that has never prevented me from trusting it or even casting a dubious glance towards said gut. After all, it’s my gut and me not trusting it is a sign that I don’t trust myself, and that doesn’t sit right with me. Consciously, I know that I’m ignoring all sound evidence by going for it on 4th and 35 on my own 10 yard line in a tie game late in the fourth, but some stupid part of me tells me that this is totally a good idea even though it’s failed me every single time, except for maybe that one time.
That’s basically Dwane Casey right there. Ignoring all logic and trusting his gut. Now, it’s easy to pile on Casey at this point, but is there a case(y) (heh) to be made that he should stay and at least see out his deal. I don’t know, my gut tells me there isn’t but logic says we need to look at it a little closely.
The #1 positive of him staying is continuity, that is, if you subscribe to the theory that continuity is worth something. It’s worked out great for the Spurs and Greg Popovich, probably not so much for the Thunder and Scotty Brooks who should have been fired a long time ago. Casey staying put means that he gets to work with the players more, and maybe instill some semblance of a defensive mentality in them. Wait, wait! Don’t close the window and browse away. If you’ve read this far, may as well stick with me. Maybe Ross’s regression and Valanciunas’ lack of progression are just growing pains that Casey always had in his mind. Sort of like taking one step back to take two forward, and next year they’ll take two forward. I know I’m reaching, but maybe?
I also believe that firing a coach after he led you to a 49-win season will be looked down upon across the league, especially for a franchise like Toronto that, let’s face it, has been utter, utter garbage for decades. No matter what happened in the playoffs, a 49-win season is progression on many levels and, like Sam Mitchell, Dwane Casey may at least deserve to have a crack at the start of next season to see if he’s found his way. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like firing Casey will dissuade coaches from coming to Toronto, after all, there are only 30 head coaching jobs, it’s just that it may not reflect well on the franchise overall. Kind of like when they fired Sam Mitchell only to replace him with Jay Triano, which was like firing the McDonalds manager who didn’t wash his hands, and replacing him with the cashier who hasn’t bathed in a month.
Dwane Casey also appears to have a good relationship with DeMar DeRozan, who he’s simply never called out at any point. DeRozan could go 0-24 with 14 turnovers and Casey would commend him for shooting until he made one, even though he never made one. If you believe DeRozan to be a cornerstone/franchise player, introducing a large variable in the relationship between star and coach might be too risky. Now, DeRozan’s a very coachable young man who I think would listen to any coach, but for the sake of argument, it is a risk that you introduce. I thought Casey might have had a great relationship with Lowry too, but Lowry’s end-of-season comments suggesting “things internally that probably need to be fixed” issues and Casey pointing out Lowry’s weight, suggest things aren’t so rosy, but hey, overall the players seem to like Casey and that’s got to count for something.
Lastly, if not Casey, then who? Jeff Van Gundy? Mark Jackson? Scotty Brooks? The infatuation with Van Gundy is all nostalgic because he hung on to ‘Zo’s legs in that fight and always looks like he finished the graveyard shift at an actual graveyard. Mark Jackson might have some good ideas, but his personality tends to wear on players and, based on his commentary, appears to be very aggravating, especially when Jesus makes an appearance during the halftime speech. And as for Scotty Brooks, if you thought Dwane Casey didn’t have an offensive playbook…
Now, it’s romantic to think the Raptors can find their version of Brad Stevens, an astute coach who can grow with the team and has some fresh ideas. The problem is that the Raptors are in NBA purgatory – they’re not rebuilding with enough commitment to afford to give a youthful fresh coach a chance to learn and grow with a young core, but aren’t good enough to steal away a top-tier coach (e.g., Clippers and Doc Rivers). I don’t know what Masai Ujiri’s coach scouting network looks like, or even if he has one, but keep in mind that he’s never actually hired an NBA head coach. The only thing he ever did was extend George Karl and did the same with Dwane Casey. When hiring head coaches, Ujiri is about as experienced as you and me, and there don’t appear to be any wise old Wayne Embryish heads in the Toronto Raptors organization right now. BTW, can’t #analytics tell us who to hire? Maybe this guy should look into that.
Let’s also not forget that Dwane Casey has installed a giant rock in the locker-room. If he’s gone, that rock will have to be moved because it would simply be too awkward. It would be like if your co-worker who was fired had posted picture of his 5-year old daughter’s drawings in the lunch room, and they never took it down resulting in some disconcerting moments as you waited for your lunch to hear in the microwave. What would happen to that rock? Would it be auctioned on eBay? Dumped in a landfill? Promoted to assistant coach? That last one is a serious option, so Jesse Mermuys better watch out because his job is about to be threatened by an inanimate object.
Have a nice weekend.
