Coaching Candidates

[redyraptor]

I know it sounds like a lot of emotions but the Raps are probably the only team without a clear direction. Half the fans want a tank. Half want to continue building including me. And management remains silent. This wouldn't happen if this were the leafs.

[Jamshid]

This team's problem is not the coach YET. First UM has to decide where he wants to go, what style of basketball he wants this team to play and what are the prices that FIT together for the future. Then comes coaching ... There is a lot of work left before he even start to look for another coach.

[MrBlack]

The fouling/late-game situations that you mention were certainly alarming, but aside from that, I usually think that instead of calling for the coaches head, its helpful to ask what any other "average" coach (anyone not named pop/spo/thibs) would do differently. The raptors are a top-10 team defensively, so Casey should probably get some love for that. Its not like Demar/Rudy/Jonas are any kind of great defensive talent. Seems that there must be a good system in place on that end.

It seems hard to believe that Casey is in favour of 60% of the O going through DD/Gay's iso heavy routine, given how unsuccessful that is. So if it doesn't come from casey, is it possible that the higher ups would like to see Rudy/Demar "featured" in an attempt to maintain any market value for them?

In other words, if everyone on RR knows that it is ridiculous for Rudy to shoot 30 whatever % every night, it would be unlikely that this hasn't also crossed Casey's mind. But what do you do if you're him? Go to his bosses with the idea of limiting the guys that are the highest paid players on the team? Doesn't that get you fired more quickly?

[feet85]

Bernie Bickerstaff

[Employee]

Don't forget yall, in almost any circumstance big name coaches almost never get hired mid-way through a season. Especially with a team that's struggling. Unless you're the Lakers or something and can offer a lotta millions per year then I don't see a way Raptors would get and Van Gundy's, Hollins, or Karl. Think about it, unless they're getting an offer they can't refuse why would they come to a struggling team midway through the season?? Are any of them just salivating to coach Gay??

I'm ok with letting Casey finish off the year and to see if he has any promise (I'm not saying it'll happen, but still...). People are too quick to pull the trigger on coaches. Why is Kidd getting all this leeway?

Anyone listen to that podcast with Simmons and Steve Kerr last week? Kerr talked about how Pop wasn't a great offensive coach when he was there. But yknow, he learned and adapted over the years. A privilege other coaches rarely get.

That being said, I would love to have any of those four coaches i mentioned next year.

[golden]

But isn't that a chicken-and-egg problem? You could just as easily say 'no point in trading players now until we have a decent coaching system implemented'. In reality, there's no reason to wait to fix one part of the team until another is fixed, especially if sticking with Casey now is just making the team into more of a mess.

I'm curious to know what you see as the downside to firing Casey right now. Because I don't see one.

I don't see any downside either, although tankers might argue that a good coach might actually win too many games and mess up the draft position. But then again, a bad coach also lowers the trade value of the current players, so you can lose either way. If the team isn't at least playing fundamentally sound (which they aren't), then that's enough reason to get rid of the coach, let alone young players not developing, which is also related to the inability to get players to play the right way.

[ceez]

Woj just brought it up on twitter but two outside the box options are Kevin Ollie (Uconn) and Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State). Two heady former players who got by more in their smarts than actual talent. Yet had long careers in the league. Those kind of guys usually end up fantastic coaches.

[Eric Akshinthala]

Masai clearly said in an interview on PTS that Casey will remain the Coach for the entire season. He also said that Casey's performance will not be judged on wins and losses but player development which I think he didn't mean. I think Casey will be the Coach for the whole season but it is his final year as Raptors coach.

Stan V Gundy is my preferred Coach but probably unrealistic. Considering Masai's past partnership with G Karl, I think it is a realistic possibility.

[ceez]

Well he's done a real shit job with player development sooooo.......

[Eric Akshinthala]

Well he's done a real shit job with player development sooooo.......

I agree but I don't see Casey going anywhere 'til the end of the season. Looking at it from Masai's point of view, there's no reason to make a change at the moment. I think the team will be stripped down and the season will be spent investing on the future. In such a case there's no need to change the Coach. If going through formalities of playing out the season is the plan, might as well keep Casey and let him go at the end of the season.

[Niagara Raptor]

is reanimating Red Auberbach's corpse a possibility?

I think the choice of a new coach is dependant on what the raptors want to do going forward

if ujiri wants to go forward with the talent we have and make a run for it I would want Nate McMillian because he is experienced and always got the best out of teams with minimal talent in Seattle and Portland ( I know Portland is doing well now but last year they were worse with their new coach with the same team plus lillard). McMillian is a coach we could probably get because he isn't really put up their on the list of elite coachs

if the plan is to blow is up and tank to get an elite draft pick to team up with JV then I think we should get Shaka Smart. He is a young bright coach used to coaching young raw players to play team basketball. He may not know the nba game but he can grow with the team. Ujiri can do the same thing as boston did and give Smart a long contract so he has job security to develop the players instead of having to worry about winning at the start of his tenure. I look at smart as a young coaching talent like any player if we can get him for a rebuild why not grab a potentially great coach like boston did

[Puffer]

...if the plan is to blow is up and tank to get an elite draft pick to team up with JV then I think we should get Shaka Smart...

If the plan is to blow it up and tank, then I think you keep Casey, trade DD, Lowry and Amir immediately for expiring contracts and picks. Rudy goes at the trade deadline if you can find someone to take him. By then the Raps hole will be too big for his absence, and the consequential improvement in team play to make a difference.