Detroit Pistons: Why re-signing Dwane Casey was the right call
The Detroit Pistons have extended head coach Dwane Casey’s contract through the 2023-24 season, which was totally the right move.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke it on Twitter:
ESPN Sources: The Detroit Pistons are finalizing a contract extension for coach Dwane Casey, bringing his deal through the 2023-2024 season: https://t.co/ow3elTueJe
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 12, 2021
The news was met with a predictable reaction. Most fans were happy, but of course some were mad because “Dwane Casey isn’t a championship coach!”
I love when teenagers who have never seen the Detroit Pistons win a playoff game can share their vast wisdom with us. I think these people are the reason Tyler Herro was voted as a better player than Joe Dumars in a recent poll. (Hold on I have to stop laughing).
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First off, how do we not know Casey is a “championship coach” and what does that even mean? Was Phil Jackson the reason the Bulls won their titles? If so, why didn’t the Knicks win any? Players win championships, not coaches.
Secondly, the evidence used against Casey is that the team he built and developed in Toronto only won a title after he was fired. Yep, and I am sure getting Kawhi Leonard and having LeBron James out of the Eastern Conference had nothing to do with that. It was all the genius of Nick Nurse! (whose team is just above the Pistons in the standings, weird).
Anyway, I for one am quite happy with this extension and you should be too. Here’s why.
Detroit Pistons: Dwane Casey develops players
In my opinion, every single player on the Detroit Pistons has gotten better this season, from rookies Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee, to veterans like Mason Plumlee, to resurrections like Josh Jackson and Frank Jackson.
Even Sekou Doumbouya has made strides of late, so the biggest reason Dwane Casey was the right call is because he has done a great job with the task he’s been given, which is to guide a young and rebuilding team.
The Detroit Pistons have played competitive games all season, have shown growth and have a top-ten defense in points allowed even though they’ve used about 800 different lineups.
This season was a masterclass in tanking because the Pistons were able to develop talent, lose enough to have a chance in the lottery and build excitement in the fan base at the same time.
For what the Pistons’ goals were for this season, I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job than Dwane Casey has done.