|
|
TORONTO -- Dwane Casey has been carrying around a contract in his briefcase for the past few months, signed by all the Toronto R
TORONTO -- Dwane Casey has been carrying around a contract in his briefcase for the past few months, signed by all the Toronto R
in Vorschläge 24.01.2019 04:44von jokergreen0220 • 2.255 Beiträge
TORONTO -- Dwane Casey has been carrying around a contract in his briefcase for the past few months, signed by all the Toronto Raptors and the teams staff. Harold Landry Jersey . The contract, just two or three lines long and something that "wouldnt hold up in court," Casey said laughing, was a pledge of commitment. Its headline: "Im all in." Perhaps no one was more committed than Casey to the Raptors success this season, and on Tuesday, the 57-year-old coach was rewarded with a new three-year contract. The announcement came two days after Torontos season ended, but a couple of months after GM Masai Ujiri first approached the coach to get a new deal done. "Coach Casey was really classy because he said to me and he said to the players, Lets leave this and concentrate on the season, this is our chance to prove ourselves," Ujiri said, recounting his initial contract talks with Casey back in March. "He said, If Ive preached that to the players, then I owe it to them to continue this and well talk about (contract negotiations) after the season. I really give him credit for that." Casey led a young Raptors team to a remarkable and unexpected season that included a franchise-record 48 wins, an Atlantic Division title, and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Toronto pushed the vastly experienced Brooklyn Nets to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, losing Game 7 by just a point. Casey said he drew up his "Im all in" pledge right after the February all-star break. In their next game, the Raptors recorded a big 103-93 win at Washington. "(It was about) committing to the process. Leaving their egos at the door," said Casey, who said he might have the contract framed. "Each player dedicated themselves, gave themselves to the season, and also as far as Im concerned to the future. Because this year was just a start of what we want to grow and develop with Masai as our leader and also the guys that are coming back here." Kyle Lowry was the first player to jump up and sign the pledge, said Casey. Retaining Lowry, the point guard whose teammates say was their heart and soul this season, will be one of the Raptors top priorities in the coming weeks -- the 28-year-old becomes a free agent on July 1. Lowry spoke glowingly in exit interviews a day earlier about his love for his teammates and the city, and Ujiri sounded, on Tuesday, as if the feeling was mutual. "Its very important (to re-sign Lowry) in terms of continuity," Ujiri said. "Kyle has had a phenomenal year. I thought Kyle was a huge, huge key to our season. For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here. "Hes grown tremendously, to be coached and to work with," Ujiri continued. "His teammates, everybody has said that. Were proud of him. And so well go through that process, but were optimistic stuff will happen." Lowry and his teammates praised Casey in season-ending media interviews, noting the consistency of his message. For his part, Casey said he never considered testing the market. Ujiri made a commitment to the coach when the season began, and Casey said it was only fair he reciprocate. Caseys job status was uncertain when the season began. He was hired by Bryan Colangelo, and Ujiri had just replaced Colangelo as GM. "Masai could have made any decision when he first took over the job last spring." Casey said. "He was true to his word, he gave all of us a platform to go out and prove and show, even the players, what you can do. And he was true to his word. Thats all you can ask for in this business is an opportunity. "It would be so disingenuous to even go out and put your foot in the market and think that was a possibility, so I didnt even give it a second thought. My heart is here, my mind is here." The Raptors thrived after the seven-player deal last December that sent Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. Casey, who is almost fatherly in the way he communicates with his team, worked four new players into the roster, and from that point forward Toronto had the best mark in the Eastern Conference at 41-22. Casey and Ujiri were proud of the teams performance in the playoffs. They squared off against a Nets team that was built for success right now, whereas the Raptors are very much a work in progress. Casey was named head coach in June 2011, shortly after he helped guide the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA title. When asked which season -- the championship in Dallas, or this Raptors campaign -- was more satisfying, he said this one. "Its far more gratifying watching kids grow, watching development ... watching guys go through Game 6, when our compete level in the first half was probably one of the lowest we had all year, and then turn it around and put ourselves in a position to win the game," Casey said. Casey said the biggest mistake the team can make now is be complacent, so improvement is the focus of the off-season. He pointed out how sophomore centre Jonas Valanciunas will work with NBA legend and former Raptor Hakeem Olajuwon over the summer. The coach said, for his part, hell do what he does every off-season and examine tape of every game, looking for what they did wrong, what they could have done better. Both Casey and Ujiri spoke again about the incredible fan support in Toronto, noting that support helps when theyre trying to sell the city to free agents. Casey called it easily the best in the NBA and compared it to the 1996 NBA finals. He was with the Seattle SuperSonics that year, bowing in the final series to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. "KeyArena was rocking, loud. The Finals in 96, I thought that was loud," Casey said. "That didnt compare to the Air Canada Centre on Sunday when Deron Williams was shooting his free throws (in the dying seconds). You could just hear it vibrating. The official had to lean over to me and whisper in my ear, which I felt kinda creepy ... but you couldnt hear yourself talk. Thats a home-court advantage, its second to none in the league." Ujiri mentioned his predecessor at the end of Tuesdays 45-minute news conference at Air Canada Centre. "I think Bryan Colangelo did an unbelievable job here," he said. "He hired Dwane Casey. The starting five were picked by Bryan Colangelo as young players. I think the guy did an unbelievable job. He was a boss here, my boss and a mentor. He needs to be given some credit." Casey was named NBA Eastern Conference coach of the month in December. The Raptors finished in the Top 10 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.450) and points allowed (98.0), and also posted a franchise-best 22 road wins. Harold Landry Titans Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at the Capitals possible summer plans, with the understanding that its tough to plot a direction without a general manager or head coach around which to set those expectations. Blaine Gabbert Titans Jersey . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. http://www.authenticshoptitans.com/luke-stocker-jersey/ . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Watch the 2014 NBA Draft on TSN, Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt.(SportsNetwork.com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. The Oilers, who are last in the Western Conference and 20 points out of a playoff spot, have been playing well lately, winning two straight and seven of their last 11 games. Taylor Hall notched the game-winner at 2:31 of overtime in Edmontons most recent victory, as the Oilers downed the visiting New York Islanders 3-2 on Thursday. Edmonton scored three unanswered goals to top the Isles in OT. Sam Gagner took the puck off Islanders defenseman Brian Strait in transition through the neutral zone and deked past a sliding defender to fire a shot that deflected off Halls stick and past Evgeni Nabokov into the net. Philip Larsen and Ryan Smyth both lit the lamp in the third period and Ben Scrivens turned aside 32 shots for the win. "Id rather we didnt wait until the last four minutes of the second period to get going," Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins said. "We have been preaching the way to play and it wasnt until near the end of the second that we understood what we needed to do and we carried it on to the third." Smyth moved past Wayne Gretzky to tie Glenn Anderson for first place on the Oilers all-time power-play goal list with 126 tallies. Edmonton is 2-1-1 on a five-game homestand that ends tonight. The Oilers are 12-15-3 as the host this season. The Kings have won six in a row, matching a run from Dec. 2-14 for their longest winning streak of the seasonn. Bennie Logan Jersey. The last five wins of the surge have come since the NHL returned from its Olympic break late last month. Another win on Sunday would give the Kings their longest winning streak since taking nine in a row from Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2010. Thanks in part to its recent hot streak, Los Angeles is still six points ahead of Dallas for third place in the Pacific Division. The top-three teams from all four divisions make the playoffs, while the remaining two spots in each conference are wild cards. The Kings picked up their most recent win Thursday night in Winnipeg, as L.A. kicked off a three-game road trip with a 3-1 decision over the Jets at MTS Centre. Mike Richards and Dustin Brown each netted second-period goals, giving Jonathan Quick and the Kings all the support they would need for the victory in Winnipeg. Alec Martinez added a power-play goal later on to sew up the win. Quick was lightly tested, but aided the cause by stopping 17-of-18 shots. "In the third we kind of slowed down a bit and maybe sat back a bit," Richards said. "But I thought we played well. We didnt do much with (the puck), other than kept it simple and got back to the net with it." The win improved L.A. to 17-12-3 on the road this season. The Kings will complete their trip tomorrow night in Calgary. The Kings have won both meetings against Edmonton so far in 2013-14, but this marks the first encounter of the season at Rexall Place. L.A. has won four straight and six of seven overall in the series and the Kings have claimed eight of the past 10 meetings in Edmonton. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '

|
![]()
Das Forum hat 2347
Themen
und
2356
Beiträge.
|
![]() | Forum Software ©Xobor.de | Forum erstellen |