The Toronto Raptors continue their streak of good decisions.
Trading Rudy Gay sparked a movement, a playoff berth, a shift in culture. General manager Masai Ujiri and friends have been making awesome decisions—not trading Kyle Lowry, for instance—ever since.
According to The Toronto Star‘s Doug Smith, they don’t plan to buck that trend anytime soon, and will sign head coach Dwane Casey to a three-year deal:
Raptors have agreement in principle with Dwane Casey on a three-year deal, according to sources
— Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) May 5, 2014
Three years is fair for Casey, who has done a phenomenal job in Toronto.
Plenty of people called for his head leading into this season, which is weird. The Raptors weren’t winning under his watch, but they weren’t built for the playoffs either. Management handed him an incongruous roster. Remember, this is the same Raptors organization that signed Landry Fields for three years and $20-plus million so they could essentially screw the New York Knicks out of an asset in any potential sign-and-trade for Steve Nash.
Seems like ages ago, doesn’t it? Perception has morphed into something different entirely. The Raptors aren’t a laughingstock or irrelevant. They’re still rebuilding in a way, but they have a promising core in place and maintain the ability to contend in a still wide-open Eastern Conference.
Lowry’s free agency is of crucial significance, but it’s not paramount. The exposure Toronto got during the playoffs—that’s paramount. Outsiders heard Raptors fans cheering. They saw thousands of them huddled together outside, supporting their team, making noise, causing a raucous like Toronto was a basketball town or something.
Because it is a basketball town.
Casey hands are all over this turnaround too. The Raptors have improved by at least 11 victories each season since he took the reins. Even in a three-year span, that’s impressive.
Put faith in Ujiri as well.
Save for making derogatory comments directed at Brooklyn, he’s not impulsive, nor is he one to make unjust decisions. We saw how far the Denver Nuggets fell without him. Believe that he’s making the right call.
No, this isn’t the scenario most people foresaw at the start of this season. All indications were that Casey’s job wasn’t secure. He could be replaced with a bigger, better name, someone more suited to lead the Raptors into a new era of basketball.
Whatever many of us expected, it wasn’t this. And that’s beyond fitting.
The Raptors were the NBA’s biggest surprise. They were a blatant tank job even before trading Gay. Then, suddenly, they were contending for home-court advantage through the first round of the playoffs. It’s funny how some things work out, how some plans change so drastically.
Not all plans are meant to be actualized, though. Everything about the Raptors proves the contrary. Casey is receiving a contract no one saw coming because the Raptors reached new levels of respectability no one could have envisioned. That’s perfectly fine for them.
They have come to embrace the unpredictable.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
