Raptors' Golden Years With Dwane Casey | Raptors Show Clips

[Music] welcome back to the Raptor show on the sports radio network I'm your host L to be joined by co-host for today JD bunkus uh I said before the break that we don't have Dwayne Casey today that means I doubted my producers because they made sure to get in touch with Dwayne Casey former head coach of the T Raptors former head coach of the Detroit Pistons Dwayne how you doing good how you doing I'm doing really well I'm doing really well Dwayne I I appreciate you taking the time um checking in

with the Toronto Market once again we saw you actually uh on the the the Raptors broadcast um I think about two three months back now but I think that led to a lot of people asking the question you know what is Dwayne casy doing right now it's good to see him again so Dwayne I want to put that question to you what are you up to well I'm in the front office with the Pistons and St still here in Detroit and I was there in in Toronto we were visiting friends for Christmas uh that's something I was

you're able to do when you're in the front office you kind of make your own schedule instead of going by the 82 game schedule yeah yeah so uh we were there we still have a lot of friends there in Toronto um enjoyed our time there tremendously uh had you know at that time too um you know Pascal was still there so we still was really close with Pascal and they had already traded OG but um so probably Pascal's probably the only kid that was there that I've coached that was well yakob was there als

o I saw I saw yob but um but I always loved going back there had a chance to visit with Messiah and and saw Bobby and so uh really enjoyed getting back there catching up with everyone yeah well you know Dwayne I kind of wanted to start with the beginning of that's okay at least in Toronto where Toronto is in a similar position as when you first took over right there's there's a couple talented young guys but there needs to be one of the big challenges for Darko big picture is how do you put an i

dentity around this group how do you get the young guys who individually have talent to play together how do you establish a defensive identity Raptors obviously not very strong defensive team we saw it again last night um as they blew the lead but getting that culture in that's the big picture and I think that that's when you came to Toronto that was at least to to me at the time just being a fan that's what I understood your job and your mission was so can you take us sort of you know the proc

ess that you went through to build that culture and establish that culture that has lasted in Toronto for a very long time well well Darko is doing a heck a job I like Darko I think he's a good young coach he you know he's a guy that that um is has been at every level and again you're exactly right one thing that we did when we first got there and uh to start the process to start the program was to establish a defensive identity I I think offensively we probably in the late 20s as far as offense

was concerned but I'd be dagg on if we weren't going to play defense and that's something we hung our hat on uh was a defensive approach and I think that's what Darko is trying to do again it takes time with young players uh to to to understand the nuances of especially against a team like Denver to understand uh the NBA systems but uh again it took us a couple years to really establish itself I think we in the top whatever defensively my first couple of years and then the offense finally came

around but to start a a rebuild you have to start it with a foundation of Defense uh a foundation of playing hard competing each and every night no matter you know when you go out you're going to be outmanned by Superstars so to speak when you're rebuilding until Scotty gets there get to that level but uh I I I I do know that's the route you have to go to build it through defense discipline hard play and and playing together sharing the basketball and and I I see I see that coming with the Rapto

rs and uh their players yeah for sure you definitely see the ball movement that's been really good under Darko defensively it's going to take time as you're explaining here I guess so my question to you is um how how difficult is it to get younger players to sort of really buy into defense and playing at a high intensity because to me it feels like a learned skill that veterans always talk about like you got to know how to play hard that that is a skill on to itself how do you develop that you k

now will and identity to to Really lock down a play defense cuz a lot of defense is more than anything else effort and commitment towards playing it in the first place no question that's a great point and I think one thing you do is demanding holding guys accountable understanding what are your non-negotiables is transition defense you're non-negotiable and if you don't play transition defense if you don't get back get matched up are you coming out of the game if you don't box out are you coming

out of the game some you know you can't everything can't be a non-negotiable but certain things uh guys have to understand and I'm not just talking about the Raptors I'm talking about teams in general they have to have non-negotiables and that's something that uh tried to do here my you we started our rebuild here you have to have things that hey if you don't do this you're not playing right uh if you you don't crack down if you don't talk if you don't whatever your your rules are um you have t

o have three or four things that uh that are non-negotiable and I think that's what's really important and that gets guys attention if they don't they know if they don't do that that hey coach doesn't care if you are the first pick the second pick third pick whatever you are you're coming out of the game if you don't perform that action and uh you don't have to be a a whip and chain guy you don't have to do all that but they players have to know um that they going to be held accountable and I th

ink darko's doing that uh you know I think what's hurting them defensively now now is uh Yak up their Center position you know you're smaller in the center I think they miss him protecting the rim and you got to have Rim protection you got to have somebody back there protecting the rim uh and and erasing mistakes out on the perimeter because guys are so good guys are so athletic uh even back when I first started with the Raptors offensive game has changed so much guys are so skilled at all five

positions they can shoot the three they can put the ball on the floor uh so you've got to be on your p's and q's on the perimeter and then have somebody at The Rim protecting it yeah I mean I was going to say I mean you know when you first talk with the Raptors if the Raptors give 120 I'm sure you would have been pretty mad you would have been yelling at these guys or at least making sure that they understood that that's not acceptable certain nights these days in the league if you hold the team

to 120 you might say hey great job defensively tonight really good job no question and uh that I don't know if I would say that but that would be that's gonna happen I don't care who you are it's going to happen a 120 night because yeah one the emphasis on the quality shots I know when we were there uh I think 2017 18 we were like top five in offense and yeah we thought we were cooking and probably now we'd probably be in the middle of the pack yeah because the scoring is gone up and and shooti

ng has gone up and uh teams being disciplined with the analytical game so it's so many things offensively teams are doing now that um that uh you know but again you still have to have non-negotiables defensively to make sure they they keep up uh to stay with the game plan hey Dwayne now that we're we're we're on this subject and I've always wanted to ask you this um and I came into the media game a little bit later on so uh you know I'm not exactly Doug Smith I can't I can't just walk up and ask

anything I I've always wanted to ask you to tell us the story of how you brought the rock right because that's the thing everyone knows the Pound The Rock philosophy we know that the origins came from the Spurs or at least that's what I assume but yeah the idea of having a physical Boulder in the Raptors in the building and tell us about that where'd you got that idea and how did you get make that happen well I I matter of fact you're exactly right we're all a thieves and I I did steal it from

from coach pop uh I know Kansas University of Kansas had it a couple other colleges had it and so I we had uh uh one of our our our assistants to go out and get and and also Brian mangelo to go out and get u a rock he went to a rock C there in Toronto outside of Toronto and brought this big rock in and again it's really where we were at the time and um it you know every day you had to chip off at the Rock work hard at that time we didn't know how good we were going to be it could be we struggled

the first year but we just kept on chipping away and so that Pound The Rock image and that Mantra really really fit our team at that time yeah Jose Calderon you know we had Jamal mcglory we had some hardworking uh hard hat guys at the time uh demard de R rozen was a young pup at the time so we had to hang our head on something and that just stuck we got it we put it right there in the hallway outside the coach's office there and guys would see it as soon as they come out of the locker room and

go out some of them would touch it as they went out and I think the marketing department went out and got some pounder Rock little miniature rocks to put around so it was a it caught on pretty hard and yeah everybody around when I went around the country around Canada people would say Pound The Rock yeah so it caught on and but I think the better we got the less it you know the less it stuck uhuh and uh we moved on from it but I thought it was was pretty good you know and once once it did catch

on yeah Dwayne I got to tell you I started a podcast this is when I was working at a different company at the score and and we were trying to name the podcast and I named it pound the rug because you know it was it was start out in like 2017 I think and uh yeah that was the name that we like too it's a good phrase you know and I'm happy that players actually interacted with like I don't know if anyone was like hammering The Rock trying to break it but the fact that players and coaches were touch

ing this rock too like I I like it it's it's metaphor they didn't went in touched it and and I thought it was cool I to be totally honest I didn't think it would would catch the way it did but uh I would go speak in Winnipeg I go speak in Vancouver and people come up to me and say hey Pound The Rock so that was really cool and and made you feel good that we did have an identity the team had an identity that fit the country that fit where we were as an organization as a team and uh it helped us k

ind of work hard every day and and we did work hard I I look back now and uh and probably I would say 80% of the practice was on defense and because we just were we were challenged offensively just because of the Personnel but the one thing I knew we could do we could defend and and the guys stuck with it and then it you know once we got better offensively we took off so Dwayne I we we can't talk about your time with the Raptors without talking about Kyle and thear right these guys are fundament

al Foundation pieces I want to ask since we're talking about the beginning where we call thear likeing the be because right now we see them as bed's best buddies we see them clowning around I'm sure you've seen you you've seen this more than literally anybody on Earth how much these two guys like to clown around but at the start of it what were they like and how did that relationship between them grow it grew it grew it didn't start out I mean they you know they started out sh one thing was what

what kind of was tough was Cal came in and I think right after that we got Rudy Gay and Rudy and Cal Rudy was I think C's uh one of his son's God was one of Rudy's God Godfathers or I can't remember which way it was they were really close and so they kind of you know so automatically K and dear didn't weren't close right off the bat I mean I they you know they were cordial each other practice but I think the year that we really took off they got close I think you know their relationship grew no

w they like brothers they text all the time yeah like I would be with with dear and and he'll FaceTime with Kyle and Kyle will FaceTime with dear and so they're like freaking Frack now but you're right it it took it a little time to take off and grow uh two beautiful human beings Cal I never forget C uh Jose Calderon was starting in front of Cal yeah yeah right and uh so Cy was backing up Jose Calderon and so and Jose is one of the most beautiful human beings you ever want to be around right and

so I felt sorry for Jose because C would come in on a mission every day in practice and kick Jose's butt I mean I felt sorry for Jose he was going to make sure he took that position and he finally did and I think we finally moved Jose but but K KY was on a mission to prove that hey I'm better than Jose Calderon and which it turned out he was and uh the rest is history the rest is really history no I've really enjoyed Kyle because I feel like to to fans I mean I don't have to say this to a lot o

f people but Kyle really has a really great case for greatest rapper of all time he was here for so much of it including the championship such a beloved figure as well and I think the one thing with Kyle is he always had that chip on his shoulder he'll he'll go he'll compete in a way that 99% of players won't go to that level to compete but I got to imagine that means he's a difficult personality to deal with sometimes too as a coach so uh he he's a pain in the behind but he's your pain in behin

d that's a good good Pro good thing to have I love Cal we text all the time now and I love him to death but when we first started we didn't you know it was it was tough we we trying to I was trying to sell him one thing the Cal was great at and we was trying to break not break him of get him to cut back on was offensive rebound he would get one or two a game but the other times the other team would run back in transition and break us down right so I was always on C Cal don't crash for us get bac

k get back and he finally broke it and uh but that was our first FA first confrontation was getting him from Crash and from out to the three-point line and again he get one or two a game by coming in getting offensive rebounds and going up under big guys and still he could really jump back in the day we you know he really could and but no but KY really he worked to where he is he became a great three-point shooter uh and again the team took on his identity yeah I mean he was a gritty grimy hard

playing hard-nosed guy I don't know how many years he led the league and taken charges yeah and you see the stat he already leads the Sixers in charges taken for the season he's played their eight games oh wow see that there you go right there and so your team takes on that Personality yeah so that's worth this Wai and gold right there and and how great is it that he gets to go back home to Philadelphia he's a huge Eagles fan uh I never forget when the Eagles won the Super Bowl Kyle came in gree

n head to toe he had a green Eagles hat on green jersey green shorts green socks he was so excited about the Eagles winning the Super Bowl yeah so you guys gave him permission to go see that Super Bowl right like I think it was midseason yeah it sure did he he he chared his own plane and and uh went to it and also he went to Villanova's championship game too right yeah so uh that was uh that was that was something I I don't regret that at all because that that's you know something once in A- lif

etime achievement for billan NOA and if it had have been demard de rozen with USC in the champion I would have let him G part of coaching you know you got to know when to to give that sort of like give and take and obviously those guys have given you so much of course you know exactly so again it it was but I'm so happy for Kyle and and Demar both of them have grown gone on and grown in their careers OG an anobi OG I started him as a rookie everybody thought I was crazy but he's developed his ga

me into excellent three-point shooter uh one of the top defenders in the league uh Pascal SE started as a rookie yep and uh now he's one of the top players in our league and so uh just just happy to see where all these guys have grown and gone on to uh Jonas valent Tunis I remember yeah everyone getting on me about letting Jonas as Jonas going to start is he gonna play more and uh brought him along slowly shot the three slowly and uh but again just great to see him grow as players and most of th

em now fathers and husb bands and family men so all those things are what's coaching is all about for sure I mean that I think that speaks to this this Golden Era that the Raptors went through that you were a big part of which is like you know the Raptors before you took over and before they went on this like decade run it was like a lot of like I think that the most games they won in the season was 47 they won the Atlantic division like one time you know and and then you saw the the progression

and it was like year after you guys would always bump up a little bit more a little bit more you know one year you guys got the defense ready then they got the offense ready and then you know 2015 I think that year I think Kyle got really injured and so you know without him like obviously you guys are going to have some troubles and The Wizard series is probably one of the lower moments in that stretch but generally speaking it was steps to grow and step to grow and of course to see that all be

capped off with the championship was such a beautiful journey to be part of I I didn't realize how fortunate I was as a fan to watch all this but I do realize it more and more in hindsight you know you kind of take it for granted as you're going through it and you like you said you forget the hard part and but again I give it to Larry tanon bomb Tim Li Wiki MSI you jury Bobby Webster all those guys they all had a vision they stuck with it uh like you said the the Wizards the the we got beat by

the Wizards in the playoffs they could easily said hey Dwayne get out of here I remember next year we said good things about Kyle I remember Kyle gave an Infamous point in in the post game where they asked about him and you and how you guys were I think Kyle's words at that time was like Dwayne's the coach I'm the player and to me that's like oh that's kind of cold but then you got stuck it out yeah yeah we sure did no it's one of those things that it you go through those tough times but you com

e out on the other side and you see the fruits of it and you know I wasn't there to see it but I was like a proud father from afar even though I we were trying to win here in Detroit yeah but I was still a proud father of what we had built and what the guys had put together and and that type of thing I was happy for messiah and Larry tanon bomb they you know they went through the hard times and uh it it was and and the city the city was is a passionate sports city and to see that for Toronto and

and uh it was great to see it was it was a very proud moment once they won the championship yeah no doubt no doubt um I want to ask how are things between you and Messiah seems like you guys are good I just I can imagine that it was a bit of an awkward phone call because Messiah always talks about the two hardest things he's had to do um in his job is telling dear that he was going to get moved and earlier that summer you know pacing around him and Bobby like he he tells the story like they're

in their office they're huddled and they're building up the confidence to walk across the building and OVO to come to your office and let you know obviously the news that they were letting you go are you guys good now and and what was it like back then good no it was it was good it was hurt it hurt like anybody would but you know I understood it and we gone you know red like a hamster we kind of gone through the ringer at the time I probably would have fought if I had known they were going to tr

ade for kawh Leonard I probably would have fought a little bit harder but but no I understood it like you said it hurt yeah um but no we were I've seen messai hundreds of times since then uh I've worked at the Giants of a Africa Camp the the basketball without our borders in Africa for a couple of Summers now we spent time over there together I've seen it uh quite a bit and then I was just saw like you said last at Christmas time spent time with him there in Toronto so now Messiah is one of the

top exe Sports Executives period in sports uh to come where he come from to start to where he started uh it is a story within itself and what he's done for the franchise there in Toronto is big time but just his personal Journey uh how he got to where he is is is is second to none and so I'm I'm proud to say I'm a friend I didn't I didn't like being being fired by a friend but that's part of it I'm a big boy but uh no he and my family uh he gives my wife a hug and kids a hug every time we see hi

m and I watched his kids grow up and so no it's everything is all good and wish him nothing but the best uh in whatever he does hey um that's first off that's great to hear right because you know I think when I think about Dwayne casy I think about again in this gold period like you know people can disagree about certain things you know whatever ultimately the big thing was LeBron was in the East and like looking back at I know in the moments I was like oh man I know as a fan even as a journalis

t I'm like I think you know maybe Dwayne could have tried this maybe he could try that I think when I steep back and I'm like honestly he could have tried anything man if LeBron stepped on that Court well I laugh with I laugh with Brad Stevens and Eric spoler every time I see him because what did he go like nine years in a row and once I got let go everyone said well we should have got let go too cuz we couldn't beat him so we everybody tried you know and and Messi did what any executive you got

to switch it up and change it up and you know it's it was a decision he had to make and and it and it worked so yeah um but you know it's one of those things that he was a nemesis in everybody's rear end and I laughed with LeBron about it I told him he was the reason why I was in Detroit and we laughed about that so uh Lebron is like you said about the golden years only thing negative about the golden years was his butt in the in the East so and then when he left he left uh Cleveland went to Mi

ami and then came back so he never left the East until until we left Toronto so uh he's a he's one of those players that you'll never forget but like you said those years I think will the his history books will be good for Raptor basketball at that time yeah my theory is um every time he looked over at you he remember 2011 with the Mavericks and obviously you were the the coordin at that time you know just like you know I'm going show Dwayne this time and then uh he did it three times but um he

did I wanted to to Pivot a little bit and ask about about Nick Nur as well I mean there was always sort of the speculation and I don't know if it's fair or not so that's why I want to ask you right now but were things were okay with you and Nick nurse when all it went down because obviously Nick dick take over right after you and he had been your assistant for five years how are things between you and Nick at that time right well Nick did what he had to do he took the job I I haven't matter of f

act in fact I hadn't had a long conversation with Nick since then we've you know spoke and everything but there's no hard feelings with me and Nick I'm more happy for the city of Toronto uh I was happy to be able to bring Nick into the NBA uh give him his first interview his first job in the NBA and and just happy to see him take the Reign and go forward with there's no animosity or oh no jealousy or anything like that uh you know between Nick and I know a lot of people made a lot of that yeah o

f you know he's gone on now to Philadelphia and done a good job there Nicks a basketball guy and uh so there but again he did what he had to do he he took the opportunity which anybody would have taken yeah and um you know G he ran with it but I'm happy to know that I you know matter of fact the first conversation I had with Nick he was playing in the championship game in the G league and I called him because I was ask I was asking a friend I said who are some of the top g-league guys in the G l

eague and uh you know they gave me Nick nurse's name and another couple of names and so I said Nick I'm gonna give you a call once you are done with the g- league and I think they won the championship that year and probably about a week later Brian Colangelo and myself uh brought Nick in for an interview and I think the next week is when Brian was let go and I said well Nick I can't hire you right now until we hire a new general manager right so then we had had to wait for messiah to be hired an

d then we brought Nick back in for another interview so he could meet Messiah and um that's when we hired him as as as a coach so it was a kind of a roundabout way to get there but we finally got there and and um everything turned out good all right good because the the stories I think when people were sort of putting two and two together I don't think it was like I think it was just people putting two and two together and just thinking about sort of how it all went down but I'm happy to hear th

at everything's all good um right right no that's that's no and just like everybody made a big deal about um you know us coming back and I think that was my next question the first year that was my next question and we were just trying to win I mean we made the playoffs that year Blake was healthy yeah Blake Griffin was healthy which was huge and um you know we we had had a good year that year so just luckily we were able to beat Toronto and everybody oh they wanna he wants to beat Toronto worse

no we wanted to win 82 I don't care if you're Toronto New York yeah Cleveland Chicago we was trying to win and uh but everybody try to make a big deal out of it and and uh I think the first game we got a tip in By Reggie Bullock Reggie Bullock I remember this very clearly yeah and I was excited not because it was I was excited just because we won the game I mean on a tip end play that we drew up and so uh it's uh so it it people can have all the narratives they want and and that type of thing b

ut that's that's you know that's why they call them fans Hey listen I I I hear you I think honestly speaking for myself personally and I know I'm not alone I think I was just salty because we were like come on we want these WIS too and why does Casey thing about it I did you know I did know the players I knew I knew the strength and weaknesses of the guys I knew they you know they were still running a lot of our the same sets we were that had run that you year previously so we knew some of we kn

ew the calls we knew the sets we knew the Tendencies got that type of thing but it wasn't any extra oh I want to beat him we gotta beat tun no no all right I you know we had a lot we had a lot of fish to fry that year and yeah and so U but uh it it was it was fun hey you know what it wasn't fun in the moment but I when I look back at all these moments I I just genuinely appreciate all this because it was a really really good time in Toronto and um you know yeah I don't know you still got to itch

the coach do you still want to get back or what what's what's your situ I'm not sure you know I enjoy what I'm doing now we're in the middle of of watching the draft I'm getting ready to go to the SEC tournament and a couple other tournaments to see I miss coaching I miss the the camarad with the players because when you're on this side you don't you don't have you don't travel with the team you don't have your your coaches meetings every morning and your your your your uh strategy sessions and

that type of thing so you miss that but um you know so we'll we'll see but I enjoy what I'm doing now I enjoy our owner Tom gors and Troy Weaver and our people here working with Monty and his staff has been fun it's been tough we've gone through a tough year a young year kind of what you know probably not to the extent that uh the Raptors have gone through but we've gone through a rebuild here for the last few years which is these are the tough times for us but but we can see the light at the e

nd of the rainbow which is great and um so we'll you know we'll see what happens in the future but I I'm enjoying what we're doing now and watching these young players grow yeah all right Dwayne I appreciate your time thank you so much for checking in once again and uh it was it was really great to go through some of these times it really was so thank you no problem guys great to talk to you and I we'll see the Raptors tomorrow night hey we will that's a good timeing you'll see a lot of raptor f

ans in the building too I I that's got to burn that's got to burn some people in Detroit the fact that Toronto comes in and invades uh Little Caesar every time I told every I told the ticket offers when I was coaching the Raptors we knew we were gonna have as many fans here in Detroit and we somehow someway we got to block those tickets and not let and but they still they still come out and they also do it with the maple Lea when the maple Lea play the wings Red Wings it is packed with with Mapl

e Le fans they bring buses down and and you were right here on the border um you know I went over and spoke for Richard peny who used to be the president he's right over in Windsor and done a heck of a job and build he's got a bookstore there and hotel and really done a heck for job in Downtown Windsor there so there's a lot of raptor fans right here next to us right so uh I don't know we have to kind of check the driver's license and see if where they're from before we sell them tickets no but

it it's great I think it's good for basketball to kind of have that boundary and that rivalry next to each other and Raptor F fans travel well you can go anywhere in the NBA LA Denver wherever they're GNA be there and so which is great for for the league and for for the Raptor organization there you go all right Dwayne thank you so much okay thank you guys