Will Masai fire Casey ?

[drunkmunky]

I respect coach Casey and I've been backing him but the way the Raptors are playing, I regret to inform that he is not up to par.

[Axel]

Nick Nurse?

He coached D-League to championship.

He is familiar with coaching in NBA rules.... obviously talent much different.

Every great new, young coach needs an opportunity to start somewhere.

If he fails, no biggie - can't be worse than now, can it? If he succeeds, great.

If Nick Nurse is the answer, then why bother making a change? If the goal for this season is to develop our young players, then Nurse is already doing that in practice. I don't see a huge developmental change by promoting our assistant. So he might do things a bit differently and we win an extra game or two, is that really a good thing at this point?

Let the chips fall, if we can't lure a SVG/Sloan/JVG coach with our revamped roster, then we can still promote Nurse.

[Superjudge]

I think people put too much praise on Coaches when the team wins, and too much on them when they lose.

The goal in Toronto, unless its to try to win now with what they got, cannot be to win games, Casey is likely under a shit load of pressure to play certain guys, and do certain things, etc. He isn't stupid, he knows JV is playing well and he is getting him minutes, but somehow, I can't help but think there really is a tank going on. even if there weren't, even if Casey woke up suddenly stupid in September, do you really want a guy who will get every ounce out of this team so Toronto can pick 15th in the upcoming draft? Really?

Guys, Toronto has ALREADY won too many games this fall. They are way behind in the tank race. As much as I like to bitch about Gay, Lowry, fuck, a lot of guys, I still enjoy the losses. A LOT. I am afraid of this team, I am afraid they have enough talent now to win 35-45 games, THAT IS A NIGHTMARE. If Casey WAS doing an amazing job, OR if the players WERE playing thier best, this franchise would be fucked.

Go Tank.
Go questionable play calling.

Go RAPS!

[Rapstor4Life]

Sloan isnt going anywhere hes in an advisor role in Utah. How many picks do we have this year in the 1st round? did Knicks give us this year or next year?

[Mediumcore]

Can anybody think of any legit reasons why Masai might actually keep him?
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where DC still has the job for the year despite being unimpressive as a head coach.

The only reason(s) I could come up with are:

- Our defense improved from consistantly the worst in the league to middle of the pack and this year though early one of the better defenses (I think we were the 6th ranked defense after week one)
- The team is not ready to compete in the playoffs, so no need to bring in a better tactician right now. Defensive principles are a huge and very important building block for a good team, and Casey is proving he can teach them that atleast.

[Axel]

Sloan isnt going anywhere hes in an advisor role in Utah. How many picks do we have this year in the 1st round? did Knicks give us this year or next year?

We have our own. Knicks pick is 2016 and is subject to being swapped with Denver's at Denver's choice.

[planetmars]

We have our own. Knicks pick is 2016 and is subject to being swapped with Denver's at Denver's choice.

Actually the Raps have the 2016 pick guaranteed.. its either going to be NY's or Denver's whichever ends up worse (ie, lower in the lottery/draft).

[Rapstor4Life]

Rudy Gay for a #1 Lowry for a #1 Ujiri may go full Warlord and rebuild in this draft. well not maybe He will however Rudy can probably net us a #1 and something else? Rudy to GSW for Harrison Barnes lol

[Axel]

Actually the Raps have the 2016 pick guaranteed.. its either going to be NY's or Denver's whichever ends up worse (ie, lower in the lottery/draft).

Yeah, that's what I said. The Knicks pick is subject to being swapped with Denvers, at Denvers discretion. We get it in 2016, but it might not actually be the Knicks pick in the standings.

[Superjudge]

Rudy Gay for a #1 Lowry for a #1 Ujiri may go full Warlord and rebuild in this draft. well not maybe He will however Rudy can probably net us a #1 and something else? Rudy to GSW for Harrison Barnes lol

Ok, if he can get someone to not only take on these guys, but also just give Toronto their first pick, I would be convinced he uses drugs to get shit done, OR that there was an NBA fix in and Toronto was finally on top of the list.

Think on it, Canada's economy, although set for a bit of a bath again, is no place near the hell in the US they see coming, The NBA might wanna see a super power up where there is a fan base that will maximize spending. SO, maybe A few things go Toronto's way this year..... hahaha

[Rapstor4Life]

Ujiri got more than anyone thought possible for Bargnani who had a disastrous year (back to back actually) He can get something worthwhile like picks for Rudy Gay a top 10 SF in the league and KLow who was a former top 10 PG in the league.

Masai has the force that man is a Jedi he keeps his lightsaber in his inner jacket pocket, and only draws it when he needs to push the deal forward.

[mcHAPPY]

If Nick Nurse is the answer, then why bother making a change? If the goal for this season is to develop our young players, then Nurse is already doing that in practice. I don't see a huge developmental change by promoting our assistant. So he might do things a bit differently and we win an extra game or two, is that really a good thing at this point?

Let the chips fall, if we can't lure a SVG/Sloan/JVG coach with our revamped roster, then we can still promote Nurse.

Haven't you seen enough youth benched under Casey?

Practice time is great and important but there is no substitute for in game action.

I don't want to enter JV and Ross' 3rd year still talking about their potential. Give them 77 games and you'll know what you have.

You have to remember Nurse is not Casey's guy. Outside of Sterner, the coaching staff was gutted. These coaches were all brought in by Ujiri.

[mcHAPPY]

Rudy Gay for a #1 Lowry for a #1 Ujiri may go full Warlord and rebuild in this draft. well not maybe He will however Rudy can probably net us a #1 and something else? Rudy to GSW for Harrison Barnes lol

Those guys are not playing anywhere near the value of a #1.

[Fully]

The in-game blunders are enough to drive you crazy, and it goes beyond last night's failure to foul at the end of the game, or Casey's seemingly refusal to put Jonas back in games where he's been having a large positive impact. There have been countless mucked up inbounds plays, strange rotations, and puzzling timeouts, dating back to his first "pound the rock" season.

However I don't think that a coaching change is going to suddenly transform this team into a legit playoff squad. I will say it one more time - the roster is not particularly talented or well put together. Everyone is largely living up to WHO THEY ARE AS PLAYERS. Lowry is the same on-again/off-again point guard that he's been for his entire time in the league. The book on Gay and DeRozan? Inefficient gunners from the outside. Last night they went 13-37 as a pair and shot seven free throws between them. Fields, Amir, Psycho T are all living up to expectations and making a positive impact, but they're role players, and can't be counted on to win us games on a night to night basis. The rest of the bench is performing the way you'd expect a collection of inexperienced rookies and castoffs to perform. The only player you can make a case for Casey holding back is JV.

The cries from everyone should be to start dismantling this thing and turn over the offense to JV + the rest of the young guys as we go for a top five pick in June. The person behind the wheel ultimately matters, but not if the car he's trying to drive is fatally flawed.

[planetmars]

Those guys are not playing anywhere near the value of a #1.

In the 2014 draft yes I agree.. but I think teams would be willing to move 2015 or 2016 picks for them.