Raptors to name head coach Tuesday with Dwane Casey expected to take over
Posted June 21, 2011 9:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Raptors will introduce their new head coach Tuesday with all signs pointing to Dallas assistant Dwane Casey.
The NBA team has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. ET to announce the successor to Jay Triano.
Numerous reports have cited the 54-year-old Casey as Toronto’s choice.
He takes over a team coming off a disappointing 22-60 campaign, with the fifth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.
The team has been stuck in a rut since making a first-round playoff exit in 2008. The Raptors lost all-star forward Chris Bosh to free agency last summer and this past season marked the third consecutive year without a post-season appearance.
Casey spent three seasons as an assistant with the Mavericks, who recently defeated the Miami Heat to win the NBA title for the first time in franchise history.
He also served as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from June 2005 to January 2007, where he recorded a 43-59 record.
After spending five years as a head coach in Japan, Casey began his NBA coaching career as an assistant for the Seattle Supersonics in 1994-95. He spent 11 seasons with the team.
Casey played for the University of Kentucky and helped the Wildcats to the NCAA championship in 1978. He was named captain his senior year and won the team’s all-academic award.
The Raptors announced June 1 that the option year on Triano’s contract as head coach would not be picked up although he remains with the organization as a consultant. General manager Bryan Colangelo, who has spent five years at the helm of Canada’s lone NBA team, agreed to a two-year contract extension — with a club option for a third year — last month.
P.J. Carlesimo is the only assistant coach who remains under contract for next season.
