The coaching carousel continues and as expected Dwane Casey had no trouble finding a new job. Casey has agreed to a five-year deal as head coach of the Detroit Pistons one month after being fired as head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
The Pistons were aggressive in their pursuit of Casey who was their primary coaching target. They're working to reshape the franchise after moving on from former president and coach Stan Van Gundy, and plan to do so with Casey and senior adviser Ed Stefanski.
"Dwane is one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in our league," owner Tom Gores said in a statement released by the team. "He's a great communicator and a leader who will connect with our players and accelerate their growth. Having spent many hours with Dwane over the last few weeks, I'm confident he is the right person to get us to the next level."
Gores went on to say: "In our meetings, he displayed great insight into what this roster can accomplish and great passion about our city and the team's role in bringing people together. He's an outstanding man with impressive character. He embodies our culture and will be a great representative for our franchise."
Casey, 61, is the presumed NBA coach of the year after leading the Raptors to a franchise record 59-win season and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In seven seasons, Casey and the Raptors reached the playoffs five times including the franchise's first conference finals. They also won 50-plus regular season games in each of his final three seasons.
Casey and the Raptors, however, could not figure out an answer for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Casey was fired after the team was swept for a second consecutive series.
Casey is looking forward to a new start, working with All-Star Blake Griffin, and helping in the community.
"They have a good team, they have a good roster and a very dynamic owner in Tom Gores, who is doing a lot of things for the city of Detroit," Casey said. "It's a little bit more than just coaching basketball ... that appealed to me also and to my family. Doing a lot of stuff in the community, rebuilding downtown, helping out Flint in their water situation -- so just a lot more things involved, more than just basketball."
