Casey Is Our Man

[Joey]

Casey is probably #8 on my list of Coaches I'd like to have Hired. If that.
I wasn't a big fan of his in Minni, and I'm not sure he's the guy the Raptors end up going with.

I'm with Apollo on this one. I don't think Casey is any more qualified for the Head Coaching position, as layed out by BC, anymore than PJ or Marc Iavarroni.

With more than a few ACTUALLY experienced, seasoned Coaches, I would be surprised (and disappointed) if they hired Casey.

[Employee]

Lawrence Frank is a great defensive coach but it's not like his track record is so great either. I think his career stats is .489 or something close to that. I can't remember for sure but didn't the team basically quit on the guy after a while?

And really you could make the same argument for Mike Woodson as you did for Casey. Mike coached FIVE seasons before he got a winning record. Casey was at 500 by his second season.

[ceez]

Knowing very little about him outside of the fact he kept a awful twolves team very competitive until he was canned, i asked my friend dan who's a mavs fan what his thoughts were on him. He basically said he's a big reason for where they are today. Defensively, the team has reached a new level despite not having many defensive type players on the roster. He helped change the "culture" on the team and freed up carlisle to do what he does best, and that's offense. If we do hire casey and get a offensive coordinator type player (english? maybe iunno) to run the O the raps will be a much, MUCH improved team next year.

After everything i've read and his comments, i agree. The key will be finding a offensive coordinator type coach if english can't hack it.

[Apollo]

His team was gutted.

[j bean]

Some might say that Jay has done some impressive work with both Canada's and the United States' basketball programs and has developed talent in the ACC. I wanted to see Jay fired so that they could bring in an established head coach. That's not what we're getting if Casey is hired. The guy is 54 years old and has only managed to find a lead role for a year and a half. That should tell you all you need to know.

In his first season Casey was given one of McHale's crappy teams he was trying to build around KG. Halfway through McHale pulled the trigger on an eight man trade. They went 33-49.
There were a lot of positives around Casey even when he was let go. He had his team at .500 and when he left they went on to go .300.
As an assistant for around 15 years and as head coach overseas for five years plus the year and a half with the TWolves I can't find any reason why he won't be hired again as HC and there is a reason he is registering on the radar of the teams looking for a coach.
The Bulls with Thibodeau and even Spoelstra are recent examples of coaches that have done OK without being "an established head coach". Thibodeau was 52 before he got his first head coaching job.

[Apollo]

JB, those two teams are loaded with talent and stars. Maybe you should be patting Riley and Paxton on the back instead?

[planetmars]

The honest truth is that it doesn't really matter which coach the Raptors employ. The team simply does not have the talent. The best coaches in the leagues fail when they don't have talent around them to succeed. Pat Riley stunk it up the one year he coached the Heat. Even Popovich had a 17-47 record as the Spurs coach in his first season (and that was because Robinson got injured). So even if we got JVG or Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan, we'd still be a sub par team. No coach can turn crap into a diamond.

This is a players league. Talent wins all. This is why Miami who have 2 HOFers and an all-star with a lot of scrubs can win it all in their first season together. It really doesn't matter who the coach is.

So saying that I think that whatever coach BC hires will again be temporary. Once we start accumulating really good talent, that is when we will start attracting the top tier coaches.

The job should go to the coach who has the ability to develop talent. Of the three candidates mentioned, it seems like Woodson is the only one that can demonstrate that ability, as that is what he did in Atlanta, but if Casey has the ability to emphasize defense, then sign him up. However I'd be shocked if the coach they select for next year will still be coaching the Raptors 3 years from now.

[Soft Euro]

Oh man, you know what hiring Casey could mean? That we open up trade relations with the Mavs and get us another Euro big man who can't play defense. That would be terrible. I can't see another European big man, let alone one that takes fall-back jumpers all the time (remember Parker!).

[slaw]

It really doesn't matter who the coach is.

I don't agree with the blanket statement that it really doesn't matter who the coach is. I agree with the view that most coaches do not materially affect player performance but that is a lot different from claiming that coaching is completely irrelevant. It is extremely hard to judge a coach's impact in any given season, let alone a game, because of all the other variables at play but I don't think that it follows from that fact that a coach has no impact.

I agree with all of your other points, though. I would only add this: although I think the next coach in Toronto is unlikely to have a material impact on performance (at least in the short term) it is important to find the best coach rather than the most experienced. If the best coach available has no head coaching experience then so be it. What worries me is that the Raps end up sacrificing quality for experience and they hire a guy like Frank, who was a run-of-the-mill coach in NJ, rather than take more of a risk on a first-time candidate who has more potential than Frank going forward.

[Employee]

Haha. Parker was definitely one of my least favorite Euros.

This is gonna get bad in a hurry.

[mcHAPPY]

The Raptors need a teacher who can also coach. With so many young players, instilling basics and fundamentals of individual skills and team concepts is imperative. Last season was an indication that many of the Raptors players lack individual fundamentals and an understanding of team concepts - especially on the defensive end.

[mcHAPPY]

Haha. Parker was definitely one of my least favorite Euros.

This is gonna get bad in a hurry.

And probably shut down in a hurry.

[Joey]

Oh man, you know what hiring Casey could mean? That we open up trade relations with the Mavs and get us another Euro big man who can't play defense. That would be terrible. I can't see another European big man, let alone one that takes fall-back jumpers all the time (remember Parker!).

Oh boy... where to start ... Anthony Parker is from Illinois ... thus American, and thats about as American as you can get ...

Second ... besides Dirk, which of their Big guys are from Europe that we might acquire? ...

[j bean]

JB, those two teams are loaded with talent and stars. Maybe you should be patting Riley and Paxton on the back instead?

We are talking about coaching this Raptors team. It sounds to me like you are saying we should have kept Triano unless they can hire an established head coach.Triano sucked as a head coach. If you don't think Casey qualifies as an established HC and can do a better job than Triano who do you have in mind that has a realistic shot at coming here?
BTW Thibodeau obviously gets a lot of credit for the success of the Bulls and Spoelstra has a lot tougher job than he gets credit for. The expectations for teams loaded with championship talent makes it easy to point at the coach when things don't go as planned.

[Soft Euro]

Oh boy... where to start ... Anthony Parker is from Illinois ... thus American, and thats about as American as you can get ...

Oh come on, Parker was completely eurocised.