When the infamous NBA coach, Dwane Casey (serving as an assistant coach at
Kentucky at the time), found himself stuck in the 1988 scandal involving $1,000 in
cash in an envelope that was accidentally opened, he was placed on probation for 5
years by the NCAA.
Although it was discovered Casey wasn’t involved in sending the package, it was
obvious his defamation was massive and clearly irreversible. He didn’t give up on
basketball there and then but accepted a head coaching job in the Japanese
Basketball League.
However it was high-time for him to return to the NBA, and when he did, he landed
his first job as head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the beginning of the
2005-06 NBA season.
His overall record would be 53-69 with the team and after much dissatisfaction, he
was fired. However, the Timberwolves were 20-20 the time and after being replaced,
they went 12-30 for the rest of the season which indicated that Casey clearly had a
positive impact on the team and firing him wasn’t in their best interests.
Moving on to the Toronto Raptors in early June 2011, Casey didn’t manage to
achieve any significant success for them. Although the team failed to make the
playoffs both seasons, it seems the saying “third time’s the charm” applies perfectly
here. During the third season with the team, he managed to set a new team record
for most wins in a season.
He surpassed Sam Mitchell’s franchise record for wins, getting his 157th against
Milwaukee Bucks with the score of 106-87.
It is safe to say Casey has achieved massive success with the Raptors as he
coached them to their first 50 win season in franchise history. It was a surprise that
he was fired as the head coach, shortly after being named NBCA Coach of the Year
in 2018, which seemed to be because of the defeat against Cleveland in the conference semifinals.
Coming back to the present, Casey has reeled in enormous success for the Detroit
Pistons and managed to completely turn the tide with this team, even after the loss
of two rotation players – Stanley Johnson and Reggie Bullock.
Once left for the dead, the Pistons are back in the game now and even went 3-0
against his old team this year and could face them in the opening round of the
playoffs.
Certain coaches such as the unsung hero, Dwane Casey, have a massive effect on
the way their team plays. LeBron James, international basketball star, of the Heat
admits that Casey’s defensive schemes for Dallas made him improve his game ever
further after the 2011 series.
Similarly, in the football world we can see the same sequence of events unfolding
involving the team Manchester City, official partner of AvaTrade. Pep Guardiola, the current manager, has led
Manchester City (74 points) to great success and could potentially become the
Premier League champions, given that they overtake Liverpool (76 points) soon.
There has been speculation that the Guardiola is helping Man City to produce the
best football that the Premier League has ever seen. In a recent interview with
Joleon Lescott , former professional English footballer, it is mentioned that “Pep has
created so much success in such a short space of time and I believe there’s more
success to come”.
Just as Pep Guardiola is the “man to take Man City to Barcelona’s level”, Dwane
Casey is the man to lead the Pistons to ultimate success.
