Should the Milwaukee Bucks consider Dwane Casey for their head coaching vacancy?
The Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of hiring a new head coach for next season Should they add the newly fired Dwane Casey to their list?
The Milwaukee Bucks are looking for a new head coach and Dwane Casey has now become available. It’s not often a coach of the year award-winner is fired the year he won it, but that’s exactly what happened with Casey.
A few days ago, he was named the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Coach of the year and now he’s out of a job as of Friday. With Casey looking for a new home for the 2018-19 season, should the Bucks pursue him for their vacancy?
Casey has spent the past seven seasons as the Raptors’ head coach, accruing a 320-238 record (.573 win percentage) during his tenure. That included at least 48 wins in each of the past five seasons and a franchise-record 59 wins this season.
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Unfortunately, they were never able to meet expectations in the playoffs, losing in the first round twice and not making it out of the Conference semi-finals either of the past two seasons.
Despite his failures in the playoffs, Casey will become one of the most highly touted coaches available even if there are a limited number of head coaching openings at this point.
One of Casey’s biggest strengths as a coach is his innate ability to connect with his players on a deep level. He does a tremendous job of building relationships and using those to help motivate and improve the players on his team.
Speaking of helping players on his team improve, he has a tremendous track record. Take a look at Fred VanVleet or OG Anunoby this season or Norman Powell the past couple of years. Also, Kyle Lowry took a huge step forward once he got to Toronto and came under the tutelage of Casey.
| Season | Age | Tm | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 20 | MEM | 10 | 17.5 | .368 | .375 | .408 | .893 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 5.6 |
| 2007-08 | 21 | MEM | 82 | 25.5 | .432 | .257 | .463 | .698 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 9.6 |
| 2008-09 | 22 | TOT | 77 | 21.8 | .435 | .255 | .464 | .801 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 7.6 |
| 2009-10 | 23 | HOU | 68 | 24.3 | .397 | .272 | .436 | .827 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 9.1 |
| 2010-11 | 24 | HOU | 75 | 34.2 | .426 | .376 | .506 | .765 | 4.1 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 13.5 |
| 2011-12 | 25 | HOU | 47 | 32.1 | .409 | .374 | .486 | .864 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 14.3 |
| 2012-13 | 26 | TOR | 68 | 29.7 | .401 | .362 | .482 | .795 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 11.6 |
| 2013-14 | 27 | TOR | 79 | 36.2 | .423 | .380 | .511 | .813 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 17.9 |
| 2014-15 | 28 | TOR | 70 | 34.5 | .412 | .338 | .476 | .808 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 17.8 |
| 2015-16 | 29 | TOR | 77 | 37.0 | .427 | .388 | .516 | .811 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 21.2 |
| 2016-17 | 30 | TOR | 60 | 37.4 | .464 | .412 | .569 | .819 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 22.4 |
| 2017-18 | 31 | TOR | 78 | 32.2 | .427 | .399 | .553 | .854 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 16.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
DeMar DeRozan‘s growth is another prime example. He’s grown from an above-average NBA player to a bonafide star throughout his time in the league. Of course, the players deserve most of the credit, but it’d be ignorant to say Casey didn’t play a role.
The Bucks certainly have a few young players that could use some refinement in their game including Thon Maker, Sterling Brown and D.J. Wilson to name a few. Casey could also build a solid relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker, the latter of whom seemed to struggle with Jason Kidd.
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Overall, Casey is likely the biggest threat to Mike Budenholzer to be the leading candidate for the Bucks’ head coaching position. A chance they should certainly give the veteran head coach.