While speculation swirls, Dwane Casey remains Raptors’ head coach – The Globe and Mail
Ujiri said he has met with Casey, but he declined to say whether the coach, who took the Raptors to a franchise-record 59 wins this season, will keep his job. The Raps president said his evaluation of the year is continuing.
“Coach Casey has been unbelievable for our organization and I treat it the same exact way that we’ve done every year, including the years that we’ve done well – to go back and look at everything,” Ujiri said. “I met with Casey for two hours this morning, same thing. I’m meeting with him, the staff, and we go through every single thing. It’s just our routine. It’s my responsibility as a leader to do that and we’ll go from there.”
Masai Ujiri Season-Ending Media Availability – May 9, 2018 – YouTube
Tough decisions to be made as Raptors begin off-season evaluation – Article – TSN
Ujiri spoke for over 25 minutes, saying an awful lot without saying much of anything at all, as usual. He’s always lamented the idea of having to sit up there with the wounds still fresh and answer questions about decisions he hasn’t made yet. If there was anything to take away from his press conference it was that: some hard decisions have to be made, changes – at least to some degree – are probably coming, and (also as usual) none of it will be rushed.
His first order of business, whenever he’s ready to get to it, will be determining the future of his head coach, Dwane Casey.
On Tuesday, TSN reported that the Raptors were strongly leaning towards making a coaching change. That remains the case, according to sources, but there are a number of moving pieces, which could delay a decision until later this month.
Kostas Antetokounmpo among Raptors pre-draft workouts on Wednesday – Sportsnet.ca
The team will get an up-close look at a pair of guards — Giddy Potts and Joe Chealey — and two forwards — Alan Herndon and Kostas Antetokounmpo.
Potts, a gifted three-point shooter, averaged 13.3 points per game and over 40 per cent from beyond the arc for Middle Tennessee and reached double figures in all but seven games last season.
Chealey notched 18 points per game for Charleston and topped 20 points 13 times. Herndon averaged just shy of 12 points and six boards for Wyoming. Potts, Chealey, and Herndon were all seniors last season.
Dwane Casey Season-Ending Media Availability – May 9, 2018 – YouTube
Intensely competitive.
That’s the first thing you hear when it comes to Jerry Stackhouse, the former Detroit Pistons star and current coach of the Toronto Raptors’ G League team who is seen as one of the best young coaches on the market.
Raptors’ Ujiri says, ‘Put it on me.’ | The Star
“I can’t pull the culture reset off this year, can I?” said Ujiri, grinning, as he opened his season-ending press conference.
Last season, of course, Ujiri pushed for a change in playing style, the culture reset that resulted in more youth and more passing and more three-point attempts, and it all went well until his 59-win team was crushed by a Cavaliers team that fully expected it to be a war.
Ujiri is not under pressure in terms of ownership, or job status, or even reputation. But, for the first time in Toronto, he has to deal with falling significantly short of expectations. It’s different.
Toronto Raptors on Instagram: “Toronto Raptors basketball forever. #WeTheNorth”
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Raptors’ Ujiri facing most challenging off-season yet – Sportsnet.ca
It was a clear-eyed, confident presentation that addressed the past, present and future while acknowledging that his chances to return as head coach for his eighth season are anything but assured after Toronto was pushed aside by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs for the third straight year, the second straight time in a sweep and this time as the East’s No. 1 seed.
“No, I don’t expect a vote of confidence,” said Casey, who holds the franchise record for wins, winning percentage and playoff wins and guided Toronto to a 59-win season and the NBA’s second-best record behind the Houston Rockets. “Like I said, I’m still here, nobody’s told me any different … I’ve read all the articles and texts and all this stuff, so I understand what’s being said. I’m not blind or in the dark, but I’m not looking for a vote of confidence or anything like that ’cause nobody’s said any different.”
Raptors’ Dwane Casey ‘still here, still fighting’ | The Star
And you wouldn’t have expected him to fade meekly into the background as his job status remained in question amid the bitter disappointment of another Cleveland-induced sweep. Raptors president Masai Ujiri has told more than one NBA confidant that he was planning to fire Casey in the wake of Toronto’s second straight second-round post-season ouster. Such talk didn’t seem to surprise Casey, who has resided in Ujiri’s doghouse before.
“It’s part of the business. I take it. I’m a big boy. I’ve been through it,” Casey said Wednesday, at his season-ending news conference. “I’m not running from it. I know we’re all in this together as far as our organization, our team, or whatever. I’m an easy target.”
Toronto Raptors on Instagram: “Tomorrow begins today.”
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