Raptors Likely To Keep Dwane Casey

The Raptors have a new GM, luring Masai Ujiri from the Nuggets with a five-year, $15MM offer, but it appears they'll keep their coach. Ujiri will likely allow coach Dwane Casey to remain in his job, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Casey is entering the final season of his contract and is a favorite of former GM Bryan Colangelo, who was reassigned. If Colangelo had kept his GM post, he said he would have hung on to Casey as well.

Despite the apparent status quo decision on the coach, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes the arrival of Ujiri signals a shakeup is coming in the Raptors front office (Twitter link). It's not exactly clear what those changes would entail, though Wolstat thinks Ujiri won't hesitate to go against Colangelo's wishes, even as the ex-GM retains an advisory role in the team's basketball operations department.

Though Casey may keep his job for the coming season, he could wind up in the same lame-duck situation as Larry Drew endured with the Hawks this past season. Drew's departure from Atlanta was rumored almost from the moment Danny Ferry took over as GM last summer. The defensive-minded Casey is 57-91 in two seasons as Raptors coach, and went 53-69 in parts of two seasons coaching the Timberwolves. Toronto finished in the middle of the pack defensively this year, giving up 98.7 points per game, 17th most in the NBA.

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