Dwane Casey: There’s no part of me that hopes the Raptors fail

Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey says yes he wants to kick his former Raptors team’s butts this season, purely because they are in the same division, not because he holds any ill-will towards anyone in the organization.

If there’s any way former Raptors coach Dwane Casey wants Toronto fans to remember him, it would be his endearing class and humility.

Having won the NBA’s coach of the year Tuesday for a season that saw him get fired by the Raptors and then shortly finding new employment with the Detroit Pistons, it would be understandable if Casey was feeling a little salty about the Raptors now that all the dust has settled.

Speaking to Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Greg Brady and Elliott Price Thursday morning, however, Casey had nothing but kind words for the Raptors and their fans.

“You never want ill will to happen to anyone that you care about and that type of thing,” Casey said of the Raptors. “There’s no part of me that sits around and goes, ‘I hope [the Raptors] fail.’ That’s small-minded to think that way.

“What I’d like to do is wish all the Raptors fans and say thank you for all the support over the years because before Jurassic Park got started and all that got into tradition, back into the playoffs situation, we went from 30th to, I think, fourth or fifth defensively, which was one of the main reasons why Bryan Colangelo hired me in the first place back in the day,” Casey added. “So, a lot of goals reached, a lot of firsts that we reached here and wish them nothing but the best going forward in the future.”

 
Dwane Casey on starting a new chapter with the Detroit Pistons
June 28 2018
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You can listen Casey’s entire radio appearance Thursday morning in the clip above, where he talks about trying to get past LeBron James and what attracted him to Detroit in the first place.

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