Raptors coach Dwane Casey - who was voted coach of the year by his peers - fired after franchise-best season and brutal playoff loss
- The Toronto Raptors fired head coach Dwane Casey on Friday, according to reports.
- The move came after the Raptors had a franchise-best 59-23 season, but lost in embarrassing fashion in the second round of the playoffs.
- Casey was recently voted coach of the year in a coaches-only vote.
The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Dwane Casey. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the move.
The move comes after a whirlwind turn of events for Casey and the Raptors. The Raptors went 59-23 this season, the best season in franchise history, locking up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The team revamped its offense and was though to be a legitimate contender in the East.
However, things changed dramatically in the playoffs, when the Raptors were swept by the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers - their third straight season losing at the hands of James and the Cavs. The Raptors blew a double-digit lead in Game 1, and never recovered, giving up home-court advantage, then losing in embarrassing fashion in Game 4.
The jarring difference between the Raptors' regular season and postseason left many wondering what they would do next. Raptors president Masai Ujiri recently told reporters that he was not looking to blow up the team, but also did not ensure that Casey would be back.
Making matters more awkward, NBA coaches recently voted Casey as the coach of the 2017-18 season in a coaches-only vote, according to The New York Times' Marc Stein. The vote is different than the annual Coach of the Year award voted on by media. Less than one week after Stein's report, Casey is out of a job.
Casey went 320-238 in seven seasons with the Raptors.
The Raptors released a statement on the firing: