Raptors’ head coach Dwane Casey agrees to extension

Baller Mind Frame’s No Layups brings you the hottest NBA stories on the web mixed with personal opinion from our very own Aaron Lanton

It didn’t take long for Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri to take care of an important job.

Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey have agreed in principle on a new three-year contract extension that will afford the team a much-needed level of continuity, according to NBA and Toronto sources.

Terms of the deal, which could be officially announced as early as Tuesday when Ujiri and Casey hold their end-of-season media sessions, were not available.

Casey, 57, has taken the team to unprecedented heights since being hired by then-Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo. Preaching a defence-first attitude, he led the Raptors to the best regular season record in franchise history (48-34) this season, an Atlantic Division title and a compelling seven-game playoff round with the Brooklyn Nets. Toronto Star

Dwane Casey’s success this season is a great story. After the Rudy Gay trade, everyone found their roles and gelled into an exciting playoff team that the city of Toronto fully embraced.

The Raptors’ fans were so exceptional that the Brooklyn Nets’ official Twitter account implored their home fans to show similar support (although whoever is responsible for the tweet is behind on technology; who records on DVDs :P).

#Nets fans take note- this is what a playoff crowd sounds like..set your DVD and take notes #RAPTORSvNETS – LR

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) May 1, 2014

The players believe in Casey and that’s why Ujiri rewarded him with a contract extension. This is a decision we will see as a good move in hindsight down the road.

The next move should be finding a way to keep Kyle Lowry. Negotiations are expected to start near the max which would be too much for Lowry even though he is a very good player. If the Raptors can find a way to keep their core intact, the rest of the NBA will have to take notice. – AL