Raptors officially part ways with head coach Dwane Casey
The Toronto Raptors suffered yet another disappointing exit in the second round of the playoff via sweep against the Cleveland Cavaliers and third straight time overall.
It hasn’t taken the Raptors long to shake things up by deciding to part ways with head coach Dwane Casey after seven seasons with the organization. Team president Masai Ujiri has released a statement regarding the moving stating that it was a necessary move for the franchise to make the next step forward. (h/t Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN)
“After careful consideration, I have decided this is a very difficult but necessary step the franchise must take,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “As a team, we are constantly trying to grow and improve in order to get to the next level. We celebrate everything Dwane has done for the organization, we thank him, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. He was instrumental in creating the identity and culture of who we are as a team, and we are so proud of that.”
During his tenure in Toronto, Casey helped transform the franchise in a constant in the playoff picture that had made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons. This included four Atlantic division titles and three straight 50-win seasons in each of the past three years that saw the team reach their first Eastern Conference Finals back in 2016.
The Raptors had appeared to be on the verge of breaking through this year by securing the top overall spot in the Eastern Conference while winning a franchise-record 59 games in the regular season that helped him earn the NBA Coach of the Year award. However, all of that came tumbling down against the Cavaliers for a third straight year being dropped in a disappointing sweep.
All of this likely made it feel necessary for the Raptors to finally move on from their longtime head coach to shake things up to finally push the franchise through to being legitimate title contenders. This may see the front office move quickly toward in their search for a new head coach for the first time since June 2011.
