Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey: 'Time is now' for team to contend

Vince Ellis | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Pistons hire Dwane Casey as coach: Free Press writers react Free Press sports writer Vince Ellis and columnist Shawn Windsor share their thoughts after Detroit Pistons hire Dwane Casey as coach June 11, 2018.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Seated in the courtyard of the Montage Beverly Hills, excitement and energy exudes from every pore of Dwane Casey’s body.

The Detroit Pistons’ new coach is dressed neatly for the warm Southern California day, wearing shorts and a short-sleeved dress shirt.

The proper attire for a day of people-watching in tony Beverly Hills.

But you can tell he can’t wait to don gym attire and start attacking the work of getting his new team better.

In a 30-minute introductory meeting with the Detroit Free Press on Thursday, Casey wants to make several things clear.

Any ill will toward the Toronto Raptors, who fired Casey last month, evaporated within days.

His thought process in contemplating the Pistons job offer had nothing to do with the Raptors still owing him $6.5 million for one more year.

He has quickly formed a bond with Pistons owner Tom Gores.

He has no issue with the lack of public clarity in the front office.

And he thinks a roster built around Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson can not only reach the playoffs — it can advance.

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Every point came with a smile.

“The team is well put together as far as the talent level is concerned,” Casey said. “It’s right there as far as making a jump. It’s a process to get there and when we get there, I don’t want our guys to be satisfied with just making the playoffs. We want to get in and do some damage. Not only get to the playoffs, but get in there and advance.

“The time is now.”

Modern man

When Raptors president Masai Ujiri fired Casey on May 11, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the veteran head coach would land with the Pistons, who fired Stan Van Gundy earlier that week.

Casey led the Raptors to a franchise-record 59 victories and helped them earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time.

He earned coach of the year honors from his coaching peers. He likely will be a finalist for the media’s coach of the year honor, which will be presented later this month.

There was steady improvement with the Raptors, who hired Casey in 2011. He was 320-238 in seven seasons and is the franchise’s winningest coach. His playoff record was 21-30.

As an assistant coach, he was credited with devising the defensive scheme that limited LeBron James when the Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA title in six games over the Miami Heat.

But there were question marks.

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The fans and media complained about his lack of coaching adjustments, and after seeing James and the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminate the Raptors in three straight postseasons, ownership decided it was time for a change.

A source told the Free Press going into his interview that expectations for Casey were “lukewarm.”

Not necessarily because of the Raptors' shortcomings.

Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, a strong voice in the search, is naturally drawn to finding new, rising talents in his decision-making process.

Casey, 61, is a known commodity.

The coaching candidates included rising assistants like San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka and former Fab Fiver and Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard.

TNT analyst and two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith was a wildcard.

Michigan coach John Beilein was the ultimate wildcard.

Casey was first to formally interview with the search team of Tellem, senior adviser Ed Stefanski and ownership representative Bob Wentworth. Former NBA head coaches Jim Lynam and Bernie Bickerstaff advised the process and sat in on the meeting.

“It probably was to his advantage that he went first and he really knocked the ball out of the park,” Stefanski said. “He was excellent on all our questions.”

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He immediately dispelled notions that he was just a retread.

He came prepared with detailed notes on how he would seek to develop the roster. There were visuals with video.

And despite a coaching career that has spanned five decades, he offered examples of being open to adapting with changing times.

Casey told the search team about how he let a young staffer convince him of the benefits of analytics. He laughed when asked about the Raptors staff member.

“He had a master’s degree in something like water science, molecular science or some crazy degree,” Casey said. “I said, ‘Are you crazy? Are you sure you want to get into basketball? You can make a lot of money (in that field).

“He convinced me and showed me analytically that analytics can improve your efficiency offensively and defensively. We incorporated it and our offensive output went out of the roof.”

The Raptors finished last in assists per game in 2016-17 (18.5 per game). Last season, they finished sixth (24.3 per game).

The most important trait displayed in the interview?

He was inspiring — instantly showing how he will earn the respect of the players.

“He commanded the room,” Stefanski said. “What you want is a presence with the players. The other applicants did a good job, but ‘Case,’ having won on the level he’s won, was very, very important to us and the team we have right now.”

Playing the kids

Tellem also received firsthand intel from his son, Michael, an agent for Raptors center Jakob Poeltl.

Poeltl has steadily progressed in his two seasons — despite needing development like any young player.

“From the time he got in, Casey gave (Poeltl) a real role and he got playing time,” Tellem said. “He’s really developed. Poeltl really felt Casey was really committed and cared about his development as a player and that is really important for a young player to feel that a coach is invested in you.”

Casey had a plan for playing time from the outset — a stark contrast to Van Gundy, who was slow to give young players consistent playing time in many cases.

Poeltl anchored a Raptors second unit last season that many considered the best in the league. Aside from veteran swingman C.J. Miles, the unit was comprised of youngsters.

“(Poeltl) has continued to develop,” Tellem said. “He’s become one of the better young centers in the league and he has a very promising future.”

The Raptors had NBA finals aspirations as the league’s top seed, but it didn’t stop Casey from playing young players.

Stefanski, who was a coaching liaison in the Raptors' front office when Casey first arrived in Toronto, jokes that he had to evolve there.

But the results speak for themselves.

“Casey had a contending club,” Tellem said. “They were fighting to win their division championship and go far in the playoffs and fighting for their seeding and he still gave his second unit — which is all young players — he’s given them opportunity and playing time.”

The Pistons don’t have a first-round pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, losing their pick to the Los Angeles Clippers because of the January acquisition of Griffin.

Their bloated payroll is up against the league’s luxury tax threshold, so a high-priced free agent isn’t coming aboard this offseason.

With health, a roster built around Griffin, Drummond and Jackson could stumble into 45 victories — good enough to be first-round fodder in the playoffs.

But for greater improvement from last season’s 39-43 mark, young players Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard and Henry Ellenson must step to the forefront — making their development crucial.

Ellenson hardly has played in his first two seasons — a mistake if you listen to the Pistons’ decision makers.

“Young players need to play,” Tellem said. “They need to get a consistent opportunity and giving them six minutes or so in the first half has no bearing on wins and losses.

“Those players need that, they need it consistently.”

Meeting Gores

The search team was convinced.

But Gores had some reservations.

He understood Casey had options — he could sit out a year to spend time with his wife and two young kids to recharge the batteries.

Casey was going to coach again, but he could wait and see what develops next offseason.

After an extensive interview with the search team , Casey met with Gores in his Southern California home.

The meeting lasted six hours.

They bonded by talking about their families.

Then they talked basketball.

And in going through the process Casey ultimately impressed Gores.

“As much as he brings in experience, we really wanted to make sure that he really liked this team,” Gores said. “He knew our players, he liked the team. He really dove in over different parts so I feel like we were very fortunate, but we didn’t say ‘Dwane Casey, coach of the year, let’s just hire him.’ We really vetted it out and I think he did his homework, too.

“He could have taken any job he wanted next year and he could have easily waited a year, but he thought this was special.”

Casey left excited, but the appeal of sitting out a year was still appealing.

He sought his wife’s opinion.

The decision was made for Brenda Casey to spend some time with Gores, but with children aged 7 and 10, flight plans were quickly scuttled.

A teleconference was arranged and Gores spoke to the couple.

Gores impressed Brenda when he spoke of the impact the Pistons can have on the revitalization of downtown Detroit.

“Making a difference — not only with basketball — but with the city, the inner city,” Casey said. “(Gores) spoke of the revitalization of downtown, the whole commitment wasn’t just about basketball. My wife was big in a lot of work in Toronto with charity work. That in itself was huge for her.

“It’s not just about basketball. We have a bigger commitment, a bigger responsibility than just basketball.”

It was initially sold as a sales pitch to the wife, but that’s not how Gores sees it.

“I wouldn’t say I had to sell Brenda,” Gores said. “She’s a great adviser and everything happened so fast for them. They were in Toronto for seven years and it came about so fast. After Dwane and I met, he was very convinced and I think she was surprised.

“It was only a few weeks after his time in Toronto so in a way she was verifying. It was a great gut check. She was taking a gut check. He was and it made the process even better.”

Casey and the Pistons hammered out a deal worth $35 million over five seasons with the potential to earn financial incentives, a source told the Free Press.

Quick start

Casey was hired Monday, but he won’t meet with Detroit media until later this week.

With roughly half of the roster training in Southern California, he spent a good part of the week meeting players.

Griffin, Jackson and Drummond gathered at Gores’ home Tuesday evening for an initial meeting.

He watched Griffin, Johnson and Kennard workout Thursday.

He has many ideas. He wants to continue the growth that started in Toronto. There will be an emphasis on ball movement, playing fast and attacking from the weak side.

He said you can expect to see fewer post-ups.

And he isn’t spending a lot of time looking back — although he did run into some of his former Raptors players at UCLA this week.

“We got a group of tremendous young men,” Casey said. “Well-rounded, full of character, very thoughtful, very intelligent. That’s what struck me at first. At my first introduction, the first thing I said is you guys aren’t going to trust me, you don’t know me, but I want to get to know you. I have to earn your trust, I have to earn your respect and that’s what I plan on doing.

“You need that character and depth when you have adversity.”

The Pistons and Gores have taken heat for the slow pace of the search. The Pistons' regular season ended April 11. Van Gundy was fired on May 7. Casey was hired June 11.

The slow pace also underlines the reshaping of the front office, which was necessary since Van Gundy also served as president of basketball operations. (Stefanski has been the only hire on that front.)

Still, it's hard to see a process in which Casey would not have emerged as a top coaching candidate — no matter who is working in the front office.

And if the Pistons had made a move shortly after the season, they might have put a coach in place before Casey was available.

Instead, the organization feels fortunate to have the coach of the year prowling the sidelines at Little Caesars Arena next season.

“We never thought in our wildest dreams that Casey would be available,” Tellem said. “When Tom was going through that process, deciding whether Stan would stay or not, no one anticipated that Casey was going to be out there. It was extremely fortuitous that by waiting and going through the extended process in making a decision — a difficult one for Tom — that Casey did become available.”

Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.