Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey's lack of playoff success leads to dismissal

After failing to get out of the second round of the playoffs for two consecutive years, the Toronto Raptors relieved Dwane Casey of his head coaching duties.

After bowing out to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs via a sweep for the second consecutive season, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri made a major announcement in firing longtime head coach Dwane Casey.

Given how successful the regular season was, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who expected the series of events to unfold as they have these past few weeks. It appears that it was enough to initiate major change.

Casey joined the Raptors in 2011, after spending the previous three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks as the assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.

He was put into the spotlight in his final season with the Mavs after the team found a way to shut down the surging Miami Heat, led by James, en route to winning their first NBA Championship.

When he took over the Raptors ahead of the 2011-12 season, there was a lot of work to do with the roster.

Apart from DeMar DeRozan, the main faces of the team were Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Amir Johnson.

In his first season the Raps went 23-43, finishing 24th in the NBA standings and fourth in the Atlantic Division.

The next season, the Raptors made a franchising-altering move in trading Gary Forbes, along with a 2013 first-round pick to the Houston Rockets. In exchange, the team received point guard Kyle Lowry.

While they might not have known it at the time, the addition of Lowry put the wheels in motion for an All-Star duo that would become the new faces of a franchise which hadn’t seen a pair so dynamic since Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.

Casey made the playoffs for the first time as a head coach in 2014, when the team shipped out Rudy Gay for a package that ended up aiding the team in pushing for the postseason.

Since then, Toronto has never missed the playoffs and have steadily improved with every passing year, culminating in a franchise-best 59 wins this season.

Even though the Raptors finished the regular season with the best record in franchise history, along with the first seed in the Eastern Conference, sports is a “What have you done for me lately” business.

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Postseason success is what matters most in this situation, and while his regular season record over the last few years speaks for itself, Casey and the Raptors haven’t had a sparkling playoff history as of late.

Casey had a 21-31 playoff record with the Raptors, which equals out to a .412 win percentage. The Raptors were also swept three times under Casey, with the first coming at the hands of Washington in the opening round in 2015, and the others coming at the hands of the Cavaliers.

For the third straight year, Casey and the team failed to solve LeBron. This year was different, however, as the Cavs sputtered at times during the season and were pushed to seven games by the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers.

It looked as though the Raptors had a great chance to finally break through. But the NBA is a star-driven league, and while LeBron rose to the occasion, the Raptors top players faded at the worst possible times during the second round series.

The news comes just two days after Casey was named the NBA Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association and could win the official award in the coming weeks.

While it is flooring to a degree, the next step is to look ahead and speculate on who the ninth coach in franchise history will be.

There’s no way Ujiri makes this move without a potential replacement in mind. Luckily for him, he’s got some options available, both within and outside the organization.

The first name that instantly comes to mind is Jerry Stackhouse. The former NBA big man came on as an assistant coach with the Raptors for the 2015-16 season and then transitioned to the Head Coach of the G-League’s Raptors 905 the following year.

He’s the most sensical option, as he has coached several members of the Raptors bench-mob, including Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl during the 2016-17 season.

That year, Stackhouse also won the D-League Championship with the 905, as well as D-League Coach of the Year. He has reportedly been courted already this offseason by other teams to fill their coaching vacancies.

Other candidates include current Raptors Assistant’s Rex Kalamian and Nick Nurse. They have been with the organization since 2015 and 2013 respectively and could find themselves with a new team.

Kalamian reportedly turned down offers from the Rockets and Washington Wizards back in 2016, but maybe the latest news could change that.

One name ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski linked to Toronto was former Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

More will be made clear of the Raptors’ situation in the coming days and weeks. This probably won’t be the last move the team will make, in order to try and better themselves for another run at the East’s throne next season.

One thing is for sure, the Coach of the Year speech from Casey is going to be an awkward one. However, he will probably handle it with class, like he has done throughout his time with the organization.

Next: 5 Revelations from Raptors' series loss to Cavaliers

What do you think of the move? Who do you think the Toronto Raptors should bring in to be the new head coach of the team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey’s lack of playoff success leads to dismissal

By Austin Owens | May 11, 2018

After failing to get out of the second round of the playoffs for two consecutive years, the Toronto Raptors relieved Dwane Casey of his head coaching duties.