The Toronto Raptors announced the firing of head coach Dwane Casey on Friday morning following seven seasons as their head coach. It was surprising, to say the least, to see the National Basketball Coaches Association's pick for Coach of the Year relieved of his duties after coaching his Raptors to a franchise record 59 wins with a new system in place.
Many players and coaches were outspoken and shocked by the firing consider the reason he was fired. In his tenure with the Cavs, Casey couldn't do what literally 23 other Eastern Conference teams and their head coaches have been able to do: beat LeBron James' teams in a seven-game series.
Former Raptors forward Patrick Patterson, who moved on to play with the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season, played four seasons under coach Casey in Toronto from 2013-2017. He saw both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry turn into multiple-time All-Stars under Casey, and he was not a fan of the firing. After the news came down, Patterson made his feelings known regarding the issue on Twitter.
Scapegoat. Agree with Stephen A. on that one. Casey doesn’t deserve it.
— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) May 11, 2018
Patterson, who averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, even explained why he think Casey was fired, saying that the Raptors needed a scapegoat and they picked the coach as their fall guy.
Sacrificial lamb.. #smh
— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) May 11, 2018
Casey coached the 558 games since 2011, finishing with a 320-238 regular season record as well a 21-30 record in 51 playoff games. While this firing is unfortunate, Casey is sure to find a job as a head coach in the NBA very soon.
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