Stability. The Raptors have been searching for that missing ingredient for years. But when the club announced a three-year extension for head coach Dwane Casey earlier this week, another brick in Toronto’s foundation was solidified.
From the spring of 2004 until now, the Raptors have had more coaches (four) and general managers (six) than playoff appearances (three). And it’s no use even attempting to list the revolving cast of players that have come and gone over the past decade. In a constant search for chemistry, Toronto became notorious for turning over major chunks of its roster each year. Now, moving forward from a successful 2013-14 season and a hard-fought first-round playoff loss, there’s reason to be optimistic.
“I think we have the people in place here, with Masai [Ujiri] and Dwane and his staff, to get it done,” says Raptors senior adviser and Hall of Famer, Wayne Embry. “I think we can only grow from here. There’s a good nucleus to build on [and] the city should have all of the confidence in the world that the job will get done.”
Advancing—or simply moving forward as an organization—begins at the top. Sure, a team needs talented players and those players ultimately determine the number of wins and losses. But leadership, vision and focus begin with the general manager and coach.
Ujiri won the 2012-13 NBA Executive of the Year award and was a runner-up for the same honour this year. He’s lauded in league circles as one of the brightest minds in the game. And Casey, a coach whose been honing his craft since 1979, was a runner-up for this season’s Coach of the Year award as well and, at 57, looks to be at the top of his game.
Together the two represent the future for Toronto.
“To have your coach in place means an awful lot because you can go out and send a message to the players that we’re together,” says Embry of Casey’s extension. “I’m an advocate of stability. Sometimes it takes you a little while to get there. We’ve worked toward that. Now we’ve shown a little success—some moderate success. Getting to the first round of the playoffs, that’s only the first step. In order to get to where this franchise and this city wants to go we have a quantum leap to go from the first round of the playoffs to the Finals. The more stable you are as an organization, the easier it is to get there.”
Twelve months ago, that stability was, yet again, in question. Bryan Colangelo was on his way out as general manager and Casey was looking ahead to the fall when he’d be entering the final year of his contract. Enter Ujiri—and Tim Leiweke too—and it’s not hard to remember how much it looked like the winds of change were about to blow through Toronto yet again (a 6-12 start to this season didn’t help either!). But Ujiri stuck with his coach, the coach stuck with philosophies and principles, and both were rewarded in the end.
“This is my tenth year here, and each year I’ve advocated finding some way to find stability in this organization and grow,” says Embry. “This year is an indication of how [Casey] was able to adapt to his personnel and make necessary adjustments to have a terrific year.”
The biggest adjustment for Casey may have come in his relationship with Kyle Lowry. Lowry came to the Raptors prior to last season and he had a difficult time learning what Casey expected of him. That, combined with off-season and in-season injuries that prevented the rugged point guard from ever really reaching 100 percent, meant Jose Calderon was often running the show for Toronto while Lowry’s frustration grew. That all changed when Calderon was dealt to Detroit and Lowry was handed the keys.
To his credit, Lowry knew that the added responsibility came with added expectations and he spent last summer getting into the best shape of his life. He also got into an early-season meeting with Ujiri that had as much of an impact on him as a player as it did as a man. The words the two exchanged were taken to heart by Lowry. He excelled on the court and his relationship with his coach only strengthened.
“[Casey] realizes that to gain the respect of the players, you have to show respect,” says Embry. “The fact that he was able to communicate in the locker room, on the court [and] in the hotels on a personal level … it helps. It really helped him to understand Kyle.
“We all didn’t know Kyle that well when he came here; we knew he had some issues with other teams. I always look—and I think I coach [Casey] the same way—at the person and why the person may be the way he is or, in this instance, the way he was when he first got here and through most of last year. I think Dwane found a way to get to him and it benefited all of us.”
Make no mistake, Lowry is as important to Toronto’s long-term success and growth as the GM and coach. But with Ujiri signing Casey to new deal, Embry believes there’s new “hope” for the franchise.
“It’s just unbelievable,” he says. “He respects the profession and what he has to do to be a good coach. He has always been willing to learn. He works endlessly in film. You look for Dwane Casey … he’s in his room watching film, looking to improve. I can’t say enough about that.
“As I’ve said to Masai and Dwane and to Masai’s staff and the coaching staff—and even to the players—I’ve had my day. I’ve had my success. What thrills me most [now] is to see them succeed.”