We have had a chance to see Masai in several pressers, as well as listen to some interviews on the radio. ditto for Casey. The latest audio clip, from McCowan's interview on June 19th after the announcement that Casey was going to continue as head coach for the year, contains several flat out declarations from Casey.
Most telling for me was his statement that they essentially agree on the strengths and weaknesses of the roster. There was a little hedging by Casey immediately after he said they were on the same page with regards to the individual players. I am not sure if this means they disagree that they need to move particular guys, or maybe if they disagree on a particular guys value to the team. Hypothetically they could disagree over Amir...Casey putting a higher value on the fact that the is zero maintenance, supports his teammates 100%, and is almost always available to play for instance, as opposed to Masai maybe saying he has a weak jumpshot from more than 12 feet out and wanting someone who is a better passer (I'm just making this shit up to give an example).
Casey and Masai have both stated how important the culture of the team is, which aligns completely with what Casey said in his first year. They have both described pretty much the same culture, from what I have heard and read...that is one where players put the team first, everybody goes hard every play, good effort is rewarded, players are expected to work on their individual games, and everybody in the organization has their eyeballs fixed on a championship.
One the other hand, last year we heard Casey make some statements that, on the face of it, were incredible. The infamous 'We're going to go with Bargnani no matter what...He's our guy' (paraphrasing) which sounded more like words BC was putting in his mouth. So he is quite capable of spouting the party line apparently...hard to believe he actually believed what he was saying there.
What do you think? Same page, or not, or maybe?
Most telling for me was his statement that they essentially agree on the strengths and weaknesses of the roster. There was a little hedging by Casey immediately after he said they were on the same page with regards to the individual players. I am not sure if this means they disagree that they need to move particular guys, or maybe if they disagree on a particular guys value to the team. Hypothetically they could disagree over Amir...Casey putting a higher value on the fact that the is zero maintenance, supports his teammates 100%, and is almost always available to play for instance, as opposed to Masai maybe saying he has a weak jumpshot from more than 12 feet out and wanting someone who is a better passer (I'm just making this shit up to give an example).
Casey and Masai have both stated how important the culture of the team is, which aligns completely with what Casey said in his first year. They have both described pretty much the same culture, from what I have heard and read...that is one where players put the team first, everybody goes hard every play, good effort is rewarded, players are expected to work on their individual games, and everybody in the organization has their eyeballs fixed on a championship.
One the other hand, last year we heard Casey make some statements that, on the face of it, were incredible. The infamous 'We're going to go with Bargnani no matter what...He's our guy' (paraphrasing) which sounded more like words BC was putting in his mouth. So he is quite capable of spouting the party line apparently...hard to believe he actually believed what he was saying there.
What do you think? Same page, or not, or maybe?
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