Basketball world reacts to Raptors’ firing of head coach Dwane Casey

After being swept out of the second round of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors announced on Friday morning that they have fired head coach Dwane Casey.

BarDown Staff

Dwane Casey , Getty Images

Although the Toronto Raptors finished with the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference at 59-23, the playoffs were a deflating experience for the team. After being swept out of the second round of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors announced on Friday morning that they have fired head coach Dwane Casey.

Although he was widely praised for his much-discussed “culture reset” that fostered a good deal of internal improvement for the Raptors, the inability to push back against LeBron -- granted, a tough ask of any coach -- likely led the team to make the move. If nothing else, they had to do something.

Curiously, Casey was voted the NBA coaches’ Coach of the Year by his peers in the league. This is different from the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by members of the media instead of fellow coaches and has yet to be announced, but it stands to reason that Casey has a strong chance at winning that award as well.

Here is what the basketball world had to say about Casey’s firing:

dwane casey semed like a lovely human being who took this franchise to brand new heights. he should be loved here forever tbh.
— harsh (@IamHarshDave) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey did everything he could with the hand he was dealt this offseason. Pretty brutal shake for him to be used as the scapegoat for not being able to beat the greatest player of all-time
— Mike Zavagno (@MZavagno11) May 11, 2018

Sucks for Casey. A “nothing else we can do so we’ll do this” firing. Guy did a phenomenal job.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey didn’t even pick up his Coach of the Year trophy from the NBA Awards yet. Wild.
— Dynamics • £ (@theDYNAMICS) May 11, 2018

LeBron really got the coach of the year fired. Tough.
— Zito (@_Zeets) May 11, 2018

Dwane was like a dad to these two. pic.twitter.com/Z8BNzesv8K
— William Lou (@william_lou) May 11, 2018

The Raptors don't need a new coach, they need a psychologist to help the players get over their fear of.... pic.twitter.com/K1OJSpN8Hz
— Nigel D. (@NigelDPresents) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey deserves a ton of credit for bringing an identity to the Raptors. Definitely a big key to our success in this era. But it’s a move that had to be done IMO, the locker room needs a new voice and I expect some roster reshaping in the summer too.
— K. (@ThatPersianGuy) May 11, 2018

The Raptors fired Dwane Casey just so they could say they made a change. No coach is breaking that Raptors roster out of the mental prison Bron has them locked in.
— 6lack Star (@Jaywop6) May 11, 2018

If you are a franchise lacking direction and need someone to build a culture and good habits Dwane Casey has to be at the top of your list.
— asad (@Swarlayzers) May 11, 2018

Listen, Dwane Casey had every opportunity to hire an assassin to kill LeBron James. And he didn’t do it. What kind of leadership is that??
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) May 11, 2018

Since Dwane Casey was the one who constructed the Mavericks defense to stop LeBron in 2011, I've came to the conclusion that LeBron is punishing him and won't stop until he's out of the league.
— Cavs 2018 NBA Champs (@216Champ2) May 4, 2018

Dwane Casey is gonna knock the Raptors out the playoffs next year when he’s coaching the Bucks.
— Beanie Seagull (@DaBlackHoward) May 11, 2018

I feel like this was the move, but Dwane Casey and the Raptors were pretty inseparable concepts at this point. It's hard to imagine someone else as coach.
— John Gaudes (@johngaudes) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey was the longest active coach in the NBA besides Popovich and Erik Spoelstra. 7 years with the Raptors. It's easy to say "fire the coach, we need a change" but this was his career. Another team should definitely give him a shot.
— Abigail A. (@aamartey1) May 11, 2018

Nothing but respect and admiration for what Dwane Casey has done in taking this franchise out of the gutter. It's easier to get rid of 1 than 15, and that's why this has happened, but he pounded that damn rock better than anyone in this city could have hoped.
— Vivek Jacob (@VivekMJacob) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey was a great regular season coach. Could never figure out the playoffs to the same level.
— Jordan (@416Basketball) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey has been by far the best coach in franchise history, and deserves a great deal of credit for the Raptors continuous success and growth during his run! All the best to Dwane in the future and we wish him nothing but success wherever he ends up!
— The Raptors Digest (@RaptorsDigest) May 11, 2018

Dwane Casey when he wins coach of the year and gives his speech: pic.twitter.com/3RoCI7vTiy
— AC (@acsteezy99) May 11, 2018

Sucks that Dwane Casey lost his job. No he didn't win the ultimate prize but damn man, this seems like a short sighted move. Toronto isn't a free agent destination so their roster is going to be largely built through the draft. Casey and his staff did a really good job
— 2nd Round Exit Jae Crowder (@el_budget) May 11, 2018

A) Dwane Casey did a fine job.

B) The Raptors were justified in letting him go.

Both of these statements can be/are true.
— Chris Black (@ByChrisBlack) May 11, 2018

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Basketball world reacts to Raptors’ firing of head coach Dwane Casey

After being swept out of the second round of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors announced on Friday morning that they have fired head coach Dwane Casey.

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