At times, Dwane Casey has looked like a world-class coach but also looks like a fairly average one all too often. After the Toronto Raptors cruised through the regular season with a 59-23 record, Casey’s name was consistently brought up in Coach of The Year discussions.
Now with his top-seeded Raptors on the cusp of being swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the speculation sounds a whole lot different. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, multiple NBA executives believe the Raptors will move on from Casey once their season concludes.
Executives around the league anticipate that the Raptors will make a coaching change, though there are no guarantees after Toronto’s success this regular season. In addition to the candidates being interviewed by other teams with openings, the Raptors have three internal candidates—assistants Nick Nurse and Rex Kalamian, and G League coach Jerry Stackhouse—that could be promoted to head coach.
Though it remains to be seen when Toronto’s season comes to a close, the campaign’s days are likely numbered now down in a 3-0 hole. Another second round exit for the Raptors would likely bring about major change, starting with the head coaching position.
However if a coaching swap was made, it would likely be for in-house assistant Nick Nurse who the team is extremely fond of. In fact, many credit Nurse as the man behind the scenes in Toronto, meaning it could be more his brilliance than Casey’s lack of playoff success that would bring about a change of this magnitude.
Nurse spoke with the Suns and Hornets about their head-coach vacancies, according to multiple reports, and is widely considered by executives to be one of the best assistants in the league. Nurse, not Casey, is credited with leading the charge in changing the offensive system. If Casey is told to take care, Nurse should be the favorite for his position.
Before Toronto can make a decision regarding their future at the head coaching position however, they must first play out their series against the Cavs. Game 4 will take place tonight in Cleveland at 8:30 PM on TNT.
