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Casey getting a fair shot or Ujiri waiting it out?

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  • Casey getting a fair shot or Ujiri waiting it out?

    TORONTO — Dwane Casey is not supposed to still be here.
    Toronto Raptors look for big things from Jonas Valanciunas: ‘The ceiling is so high for him’

    It was just 10 months ago that Casey was close to losing his job. The Raptors returned from a West Coast trip with a 4-18 record, and general manager Bryan Colangelo and his front office discussed firing the second-year coach. Ultimately, Casey hung on to his job and the Raptors split their final 60 games.

    At the end of the year, at least partly out of self-preservation, Colangelo chained himself to Casey … and was promptly fired (or re-assigned, if you prefer the vague language of press releases). New Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Tim Leiweke brought in Masai Ujiri from Denver to replace Colangelo, and it seemed likely Ujiri would hire his own coach.

    http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/...-another-shot/
    Do you think Casey is getting a fair shot or is Ujiri just letting the situation and contract run its course?
    40
    Fair shot
    60.00%
    24
    Situation and contract running its course
    25.00%
    10
    Another thread hijacked by tanking in 3...2...1...
    15.00%
    6

  • #2
    i dunno i think it's one of those "you have a year to surprise us" type deals
    @sweatpantsjer

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    • #3
      Why can't it be both? As in "we're giving you a fair shot to see what you can do this season"
      9 time first team all-RR, First Ballot Hall of Forum

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      • #4
        I honestly don't know what MU is thinking, and I'm not ashamed to say it. He keeps things so close to the vest, that it will probably be a done deal (fired, extended) before we even know there was a conversation.

        I hope that Casey is getting a fair shot. I think he's got better defensive options that he has had (no Bargnani) and could finally install that hard-nose defensive culture he's wanted to. I think the offence can struggle and MU will hold on as long as the D is playing the way it should be. That said, if the D isn't there with a defensive coach, then I can see MU using the season as an evaluation period without the additional costs of paying 2 head coaches.
        Heir, Prince of Cambridge

        If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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        • #5
          It's fair in the sense that just about everyone in the Raptors organization got axed this summer and yet Casey's been given another season to show what he can do independent of Colangelo.

          But I think he's going to have to greatly exceed expectations this year in order for Ujiri to extend him, and that will be tough when the roster is a borderline playoff team on it's face. The previous two seasons he's been handed bad rosters as well.

          So a little bit of both?

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          • #6
            Casey and the core both have a shot at proving themselves this season. If they honestly want to "wait and see" a bit on the roster, it wouldn't make sense to switch coaches, imho. Then you'd have that major transition for everybody to adjust to, which would be the next excuse for underachieving.

            By keeping the status quo, there are no excuses for anybody. The roster and the coach all get a fair shot to prove themselves to the new management.

            If MU didn't want to dismantle the roster right out of the gate, then I think it makes a lot of sense to keep Casey. There's too much coaching turnover in general, because that's the easiest position to fill. I don't think it helps teams much to have such a short leash on the coach.
            "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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            • #7
              KeonClark wrote: View Post
              Why can't it be both? As in "we're giving you a fair shot to see what you can do this season"
              Booooo!

              How are we suppose to polarize opinions and create conflict with such rational perspectives?????

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              • #8
                I think he's getting a fair shot. His contract, and the team's situation, are definitely factors in MU keeping him on board, but I believe he's being evaluated with a clean slate, and being given the chance to show how he wants to coach, and how that works with the players.

                It's not easy to find good head coaches, and it's also not easy to attract them to an uncertain situation. The way I see it is MU really didn't want a new guy. Giving a new guy his first big shot, like hiring a first time head coach, could easily be a disaster where he struggles to implement a system and never gets the players following him. Hiring a big name would not be easy given the Raps situation.

                Casey gives them continuity and a guy who knows this team. He makes it easier to evaluate the team, including himself, since if hte team shows no real progress, it's easy to assume coaching is part of the problem. But if the team (and individuals) show significant progress, it should be easier to see what players don't fit in what seems to be a workable system, at least for the time being. So yeah, I think he's being evaluated, like the whole team, and does have a real shot to stay on. I don't know the odds, but I dno't think it's a terribly small shot.

                And I don't think if he makes it to next season that it necessarily means he'll be here a long time. I could easily see them give him like a 2 year extension, and then if by his 2nd year the talent has been upgraded and he's struggling to take the team a level higher, they'll fire him and shop the job to coaches when it's more appealing.

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                • #9
                  its nice when we can shortstick the argument that his terrible coaching last year was all because of BC; i dont think we can blame 100% of it on BC, right? casey's offensive game seems almost non existent at times. while raptors defense did improve, i wouldnt say it lived up to the 'hype'.

                  if UM is gonna make big changes to the team next season or after, it doesnt make a lot of sense to labor through signing a new coach w/ a multiyear deal. and especially hard to sign a good coach now with all these superteams, whom most would rather go and coach for.

                  i dont think casey will be here next year. at least, not in a head coach capacity.

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                  • #10
                    phez wrote: View Post
                    its nice when we can shortstick the argument that his terrible coaching last year was all because of BC; i dont think we can blame 100% of it on BC, right? casey's offensive game seems almost non existent at times. while raptors defense did improve, i wouldnt say it lived up to the 'hype'.

                    if UM is gonna make big changes to the team next season or after, it doesnt make a lot of sense to labor through signing a new coach w/ a multiyear deal. and especially hard to sign a good coach now with all these superteams, whom most would rather go and coach for.

                    i dont think casey will be here next year. at least, not in a head coach capacity.
                    This is true. The thing I like about Year 1 Casey is that (theoretically) he can take the team to an above-average defense and an average offense. That's a great recipe for some playoff success. IF the team manages to get to that level and appears to plateau because of a lack of creativity on offense, then I'd cross that bridge at that time and look at a coaching change.

                    But I think Casey showed enough in year 1 to give him the benefit of the doubt and some leash. Coaching stability is good (unless your coach is Vinny del Negro). Casey's a new HC, and you've got to hope that he can learn and develop through experience, same as you expect of your players. Spolestra's a great example of hanging in there with a guy when there were a few reasons to replace him early on, and reaping the benefits later.
                    "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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                    • #11
                      I think Ujiri doesn't quite know where we're at, and the intention is to play it out. Two things can come from this:

                      (a) We're actually pretty good and with some contracts expiring soon we can build.
                      (b) We're not very good and we'll blow it up.

                      Neither of these two scenarios requires a new coach.
                      your pal,
                      ebrian

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                      • #12
                        KeonClark wrote: View Post
                        Why can't it be both? As in "we're giving you a fair shot to see what you can do this season"
                        I just hope it won't be a deja vu scenario like what happened with Smitch and Colangelo, where I believe Colangelo had the same strategy and was leaning more on letting Smitch go at season's end and hiring his own coach. Fortunately the new players that were brought, Smitch system and a very week Eastern conference has foiled that plan. Will Ujiri have the cojones (unlike Colangelo) to let go of Casey if Casey overachieve's (due to almost the same circumstances) and let him go if he see's the option for a better coach will be available the following season?!

                        Maybe the question should have asked were there better coaches that were available in the NBA other then Casey this season?! the answer to that is yes. Would these coaches would have come to Toronto giving the Raptors current flawed treadmill team roster?! the answer to that is No. Hence the decision to let Casey coach this season may have been the most practical one.
                        Last edited by Hotshot; Mon Oct 7, 2013, 02:57 PM.

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                        • #13
                          I'm looking forward to the George Karl era.
                          Eh follow my TWITTER!

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                          • #14
                            Well with the things UM is saying, it seems like he believes in DC and is willing to give him a fair shot. UM was quoted for saying there'll be no snitch on DC's staff now that he went and overhauled it. If UM really didn't want DC around, he would have gone and replaced him along with the rest of the staff to start anew.

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                            • #15
                              I really think MU wants to see what this team can do given a full training camp and how far Casey can take them.

                              By keeping the core intact and coming in with the same coach, i think he's really confident, or at least hoping, that this group can make the playoffs and be able to build from there.

                              Im guessing MAsai's words to Casey were: We're bringing the team back, this is your group, and we're bringing you back, you're the best person to coach this team since you already know what theyre capable of, now show us why we need to bring you and everybody else back next year.

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