Dwane Casey has his players’ ears, and John Salmons would know: ‘He gave us something to shoot for’

TORONTO — Here is the list: Larry Brown, Randy Ayers, Chris Ford, Jim O’Brien, Maurice Cheeks, Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus, Kenny Natt, Vinny Del Negro, Scott Skiles, Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone, Dwane Casey.

John Salmons is in his 12th year in the NBA, and he has played for 14 head coaches. Because of the volume, that means some have been good coaches and some have been bad. Some have had the respect of their players, and some have not.

“It’s a tough spot for a head coach,” Salmons said in a conversation with three reporters earlier this week. “The majority of the players get paid more than the coaches. A lot of times players have more power than coaches. If it’s a good organization from the top, the coach pretty much follows. If the organization gives the coach some leeway, some power from the top, then he [has respect].”

The Raptors have yearned for that type of stability for years now. June 2004 was the last time a general manager and coach ascended to their positions at roughly the same time for the Raptors, when Rob Babcock and Sam Mitchell landed those jobs, respectively. Last year, it was clear that general manager Bryan Colangelo and Casey, the Raptors’ coach, disagreed on some rather essential points.

This year, it seemed like a lock for that pattern to continue. Colangelo was removed as general manager, replaced by Masai Ujiri, who was emboldened with a five-year contract. Ujiri retained Casey, but did not extend his contract, which ends after this season. The situation still looked like a petri dish capable of growing more organizational dysfunction.

Yet, there was Casey on Wednesday, punctuating a four-game winning streak by harping on the Raptors’ diminished defence. He has continued to coach to his beliefs, and the players have not sensed any interference from above.

“A lot of organizations don’t allow coaches to do certain things,” Salmons said. When asked if that included setting a team’s rotation, Salmons nodded. “In this organization, they give [Casey] a lot of leeway to coach. Players see that and know that he’s got the back of the organization and they have to fall in line.

“All year he’s been trying to build for this moment. He was always looking at the bigger picture. Even when we were in the middle of making our run, he always had the bigger picture in mind … He gave us something to shoot for.”

They have not yet hit their target. The Raptors are 12-6 since March 9, an excellent record. However, the raw win-loss numbers lie a little bit: The Raptors have allowed 105.7 points per 100 possessions, just 17th in the league. In the three months prior, they had ranked fourth in the same category.

For Casey, who has preached defence for his entire tenure, that is worrisome. Part of the slippage has been injury-related, with Patrick Patterson, Amir Johnson and Kyle Lowry all missing some time and playing hurt in other games. Casey also pointed to calendar-related distractions — the playoffs are close, so it is hard not to let your mind wander.

However, for a team with so little playoff experience, it is critical that a coach has his players’ attention at this time of the year.

“You can tell if a coach is saying one thing and don’t really mean it or saying one thing and doing something different,” Salmons said. “That’s when players tend to lose respect for coaches. With [Casey], what you see is what you get. Straightforward, tell you how it is.

“Players want honesty. Just tell me what you want or what I’m not doing. You know what I’m saying? Just let me know. Don’t just hang me in the wind not knowing. I think they do a good job of that here. That’s a big deal.”


(nationalpost.com)