Detroit Pistons: Why re-signing Dwane Casey was the right call

Detroit Pistons: Dwane Casey has a track record of success

If you look at Casey’s time in Toronto, it started very similarly to his time with the Pistons.

He was given a young, underachieving team that needed to develop and amass talent. After missing the playoffs for the first two seasons, he lost in the first round twice before getting to the conference Finals and then losing two years in a row in the Semis.

The Raptors were built organically and got better due to savvy drafting and in-house development.

Sound familiar?

Casey hopes to follow a similar trajectory with the Detroit Pistons. If they can take the next step as a team next season and compete for a playoff spot, he will be on the same course.

A lot of people have pointed to his lack of success in the playoffs as the evidence that he is not a “Championship Coach.” Fair enough, Casey never won a title in Toronto, but he consistently coached good teams who overachieved, made the playoffs most years and just happened to run into the greatest player of all time.

I don’t know about you, but if Dwane Casey can get the Detroit Pistons into the playoffs consistently, I’ll be pretty happy. It takes a lot of luck to win a title, and it should not be the only measure of success. But to win one, you have to be involved, and Casey’s teams mostly have been.

I’d love for the Pistons to win another title in my lifetime, but I’d also like them to be consistent winners. Every “Championship” coach at one point was a guy who had never won a title, but you have to get there to have a chance.