Dwane Casey gets Coach of Year honour from peers – Raptors get hands tied

TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 9: Masai Ujiri and Drake before the game between the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors on March 9, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 9: Masai Ujiri and Drake before the game between the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors on March 9, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

Dwane Casey gets a major honour from his fellow coaches. That should be great news for the Raptors organization, but the situation is far from ideal.

Here at the Rapture, we try to be an analysis site. We want to offer thoughtful commentary on issues which matter to fans of the Toronto Raptors without worrying about being first to the news.

I’m going to bend that notion a little with the hot news of the selection of Dwane Casey as the winner of the Michael H. Goldberg Award. That’s the trophy awarded to the NBA’s Coach of the Year, as voted on by the coaches themselves. The award handed out by the NBA is voted on by the media and will be announced on June 25.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 27: Head Coach Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors speaks to the team after Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Wizards during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2018 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 27: Head Coach Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors speaks to the team after Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Wizards during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2018 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Goldberg award is a huge feather in Casey’s cap, but a headache for team President Masai Ujiri. Under normal circumstances, the Raptors would celebrate their coach’s recognition from his peers. However, the win occurs at a time when Toronto’s coaching situation is a million miles from stable.

Let’s step back a bit. We want Toronto and the Raptors to be perceived as a desirable destination for players, coaches, scouts – everyone. I’m not in the least worried about the appeal of the city itself, and the organization has become much stronger under Masai’s guidance. However, our image could be damaged should Dwane get canned, particularly now.

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Somebody (or multiple somebody’s) is going to pay the price for the Raptors’ second straight embarrassing departure from the NBA playoffs. We’ve speculated about Casey being the obvious candidate, but how do you dump the reigning Coach of the Year? What if Dwane’s leadership is recognized by the media, so he ends up with both prestigious CoY awards, but no job?

I was around during Rob Babcock’s Reign of Error. The franchise was a laughingstock. Rafael Arujao with the #8 pick? Prior to that, Tracy McGrady walked away and became a Hall of Famer with other teams. Would he have done so had the Raptors been a stronger franchise at the time? We’ll never know. What we do know is this: the chance to create championship teams can be short-circuited by a ham-handed organization. Just ask fans of the Knicks or Kings.

The best solution might be asking Dwane to resign. He could plead a wish to be more of a stay-at-home father to his growing children. No reasonable person could argue with that position. Jerry Stackhouse would get the big chair, or Nick Nurse, or someone from outside…

We’re a long way from done here.