Woj: Casey will be back

[planetmars]

Figures.. well hopefully Casey goes back to year 1 and year 3 of defense. Not expecting anything from the offense.. but at least some decent defense would be nice.

[DogeLover1234]

Havent read many of the posts but do you guys think that this non firing of Casey is to give management an excuse next year if things go bad again? Is this a sign that Lowry (and probably others) are gone? Does MU actually think DC is a good coach?

[Scraptor]

Make a convenient scapegoat while preserving the structure that will ensure mediocre play to last through the All Star game.

I don't know how anyone could think this is what's best for the team long term.

[phez]

There will no announcement confirming Dwane Casey staying on with Raptors. He is the head coach. There are no plans to make a change. /1

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 12, 2015

i dont know, when before has grange pulled rabbits out of his hat?

[Uncle_Si]

Some of you guys are bonkers. Very entertaining

[DanH]

Oh well.

Alright, so if the coach stays the same, one or both of DD/Lowry has to go for changes to be significant enough. Probably Lowry first, as Ujiri loves building around youth.

Lots of changes must be coming, so that's exciting anyway. Would be interesting to see a trade with Denver where they get Lowry and DD, and we get Faried and their 2016 pick. Opens up cap space this summer so we can chase two guys - a max like Middleton and a secondary target like Cory Joseph. Or something entirely different - just want to see big changes to the core, which is clearly lacking.

[Uncle_Si]

Oh well.

Alright, so if the coach stays the same, one or both of DD/Lowry has to go for changes to be significant enough. Probably Lowry first, as Ujiri loves building around youth.

Lots of changes must be coming, so that's exciting anyway. Would be interesting to see a trade with Denver where they get Lowry and DD, and we get Faried and their 2016 pick. Opens up cap space this summer so we can chase two guys - a max like Middleton and a secondary target like Cory Joseph. Or something entirely different - just want to see big changes to the core, which is clearly lacking.

Big changes definitely have to happen. Miami will be better, Indiana will be better, hawks, Cavs, bulls will all still be there. Milwaukee will be better and all of the bottom feeders will also improve.

Looking at that list makes me uncomfortable...

[Scraptor]

What's next? Trade Lowry?

I can't believe what a joke this organization is. Even when we muddle to mediocre success we do it in the shittiest way possible.

[RepTdot]

Casey is retained.....well shit

[peanutwoozle]

Looks like Masai is too chickens**t to fire the head coach.

[Mindlessness]

I think there are two reasons as to why he did this:

1) He has actually found his man, but he -- say Messina, who has stated he wishes to study under an NBA coach before coaching himself -- said he'll consider the offer more seriously next year.

2) This is actually the year (let's be honest, most of us thought Casey, even with all the flaws we saw last year, wasn't worse than - say Wittman - and Masai thought this as well) he's giving Casey the rope to hang himself -- hence he's given Casey full responsibility over the coaching staff -- or become Michael Phelps Reincarnated as a coach.

(Technically these two reasons might lead to the same result if Casey fails (2nd reason), then bring in your man.)

There are problems with both reasons in my opinion.
1) Your man may not come next year -- unless he said he would come 100% -- especially if a) a more attractive offer appears or b) he likes the status quo.

2) Casey is a really bad coach, then Masai done fucked up and just burned a year of everything your team has or what you want itt to be, from JV and Bruno's development, to simply creating HIS vision's culture/systems/philosophies etc.

I still believe in Masai personally, he hasn't made a mistake up to this point. Most, if not all of us, have at this point concluded that this team sorely needs a talent infusion. What if Masai knocks that part of it out of the park? What if he nails trades for high-upside rookie deals like say Stauskas and Vonleh? It's Masai, he loves upside, and his history suggests that he might just infuse the team simply with upside.

For god's sake, Sam Presti has been given a pass for employing Scott Brooks for several years by not only the media, but OKC's FANS due to his great scouting abilities and ability to knock a lot trades -- Kanter, Singler this year, etc. -- out of the park (excepting the Harden trade, but he was handcuffed there). Masai hasn't even been here long enough to say his scouting has failed, not to mention every trade he's made so far has had a positive impact on the team.

So, uh, yeah.

Just my 2 cents.

[Scraptor]

I still believe in Masai personally, he hasn't made a mistake up to this point.

Good post, but I think is the one point I have an issue with. What is a good time frame to judge a GM? I personally believe three years is an adequate time frame in which to advance a team towards a vision.

If we keep Casey, what is our vision? What kind of team are we hoping to become? The offense doesn't work in the playoffs. The defense doesn't work despite four years with varying roster pieces.

At the end of next year, if we win 50 games and exit in the first round... What exactly will we have accomplished? Do you expect Bruno to get any burn with Casey on the hot seat yet again? Are we going to find creative ways to get Jonas involved when we haven't done so for three years? Or are we going to give it to the vets and let them do what they want, as they have for four years?

There just doesn't seem to be an overarching strategy in place.

You can play things safe and never make a mistake, but never making a mistake is not the same as positive forward progress. And for the record, I think it was a mistake to retain Casey in year one, to re-sign him in year two, and to retain him in year three.

We might move some pieces around.... But if Casey is steering the ship it's just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[McRealistic]

You can play things safe and never make a mistake, but never making a mistake is not the same as positive forward progress.

Well said and you beat me to it.

MU does not make much mistakes because he barely makes any moves. His lack of action was welcome by the fans who had a GM like BC who was too eager to make a move and was taken as a sign of patience and a man with grand plan.

However retaining Casey with a team which clearly does not have enough talent to run his systems is a mistake.

Honeymoon is over for MU and it is time to see what he is really about.

This is the Summer of MU and he is off to a terrible start.

[Primer]

Masai better throw somebody under the bus soon, because this makes no fucking sense. Tell me you were relying too much on the analytics staff, and you're firing all of them. After all, there was that article where our analytics staff said our ISO heavy offense was ideal for the playoffs. Anything to give some credibility back to Casey. I can't wait for Masai next interview where he tries to rationalize this shit. Maybe MLSE said they wouldn't pay to fire Casey. Since leiweke is leaving I have no clue who is in charge. Ughhh, so disappointed right now.

[Mediumcore]

Let's not make this about Casey. There are reasons as to why some of the assistants may need to go. First and foremost the lack of development from Ross and JV. Assistant coaches work much more closely with players on development than does the head coach. It's pretty clear JV struggles with some of the same issues he has since his first season, and Ross just completely dropped off this season...took a step back actually.