Dwane Casey Pens Thank You Letter to Toronto and Fans
Dwane Casey thanked Toronto and Raptors fans one day after he was surprisingly fired by the organization. Casey sent the letter to the Toronto Star and started it with: Dear Toronto.
He simply wrote thank you on the first line and then thanked the basketball fans throughout the city and the rest of Canada who supported the team and welcomed his family during his seven years leading the team.
He thanked all the fans who came to Air Canada Centre to cheer the team on while he and his coaches built the program into a contender, arriving to games even when there was cold and rain, watching the games at home while offering their support as the team traveled to relevancy together with its supporters.
Casey thanked the people of Toronto for teaching an all-American family how it is done in Canada. He said Canada showed them that being considerate and polite to each other is the best way. He added that Canada showed them that diversity is to be celebrated and embraced and learning about one another’s cultures is the best way to find a common ground as well as understanding.
He went on to thank Toronto for many other things the people of the city taught him and his family.
Casey leaves the Raptors as the franchise’s most successful coach, but was fired on Friday following two straight second round playoff losses in which they were swept each time by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Wednesday, the league’s head coaches (30) voted Casey as the winner of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year.
During the just completed regular season, the Raptors set a new franchise record with 59 wins and earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, the Raptors eliminated the Washington Wizards in six games before being swept in the second round by the Cavaliers.
The odds are very high Casey will find a home as a head coach in the NBA very soon. The success the Raptors have had over the last two seasons proves his ability to handle NBA stars and once the postseason has handed, offers will likely flood in.
