When Troy Weaver arrived as general manager in Detroit three years ago, he brought a sledgehammer with him.
His first two years were defined by the flurry of moves he made to erase the Detroit Pistons of old. Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose are gone, as are their previous cohort of young players. There are new trainers, new front office members, even new security guards.
Nearly everything has changed — except for the head coach. And as the Pistons approach the end of a disappointing season, Dwane Casey is approaching lame-duck status. The one-year extension he inked in 2021 means he has one year remaining on the contract initially signed in 2018.
Following Detroit’s 123-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday — their 11th straight loss, and 22nd in 23 games — Casey addressed his job security head-on. It took him nearly an hour to join the media for his postgame availability because he met with Pistons’ ownership after the home finale. Owner Tom Gores sat courtside to watch his team fall to 16-64 overall. The Pistons will not only finish with the NBA’s worst record, but need a win in one of their two final games to avoid tying the franchise record for fewest wins.
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Casey’s longevity has been atypical, as he’s the sixth-longest tenured head coach in the NBA despite not producing a winning season in his five seasons in Detroit. It speaks to the faith that Pistons leadership has placed in him to coach up and develop young players and eventually put a winning team on the floor.
But as the Pistons wrap up one of the worst seasons in franchise history, Casey will be among a long list of pending evaluations.
“We talked about how we’re going to look at everything and meet again after we’re all done and see which way we all want to go as far as the organization,” Casey said. “There’s nothing that’s been decided as far as that’s concerned.”
What are Casey’s expectations?
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m under contract for another year. I committed to Tom that we were winning 60 games when I left (Toronto), and now we’re losing 60 games, but I committed to him to come in and turn around the organization. We are where we are right now. I know it seems like it’s forever away, but we’re not that far away. This team is not that far away.”
Lame-duck coaches are rare in the NBA — teams are typically in on their coaches, or out, with most fired long before an extension becomes a consideration. Casey could return next season with no security beyond 2023-24, facing a prove-it situation in the final year of his deal.
Whether such a situation is tenable is something both Casey and Pistons ownership will figure out in the coming days and weeks.
An atypical tenure
It’s hard to believe Casey is days away from reaching the initial five-year tenure he agreed to in 2018.
Consider the five coaches ahead of Casey in tenure: San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (who has multiple titles and was announced as a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee just this weekend), Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Golden State’s Steve Kerr, Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer — three coaches who’ve all won an NBA title or coached in the NBA Finals in the past four seasons — and Denver’s Mike Malone, whose Nuggets are a Western Conference contender once again.
Casey, meanwhile, has more than twice as many losses as wins in Detroit. While some will debate his coaching chops, his 120-262 record also reflects Detroit’s organizational priorities and poor injury luck.
After leading the Toronto Raptors to a franchise-best 59 wins in 2018, he was fired by that franchise, only to be hired immediately to lead a Pistons team with championship aspirations. The 2018-19 Pistons were led by a still-in-his-prime Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. That era is long gone. In hindsight, that core was unlikely to ever produce a Finals appearance They went 41-41 during Casey’s first season — making the playoffs before getting swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round — before injuries robbed Griffin of his remaining prime and led to the team’s eventual front office change in June 2020.
Casey had just completed his second season when Weaver was hired. New GMs generally prefer to pick their own head coach. But Weaver was a Casey admirer. He respected the job Casey did in Toronto from 2011-18, helping DeMar DeRozan and Fred VanVleet reach stardom as the organization went from the Eastern Conference’s basement to a No. 1 seed in his final season. He previously became acquainted with Casey when they were Western Conference rivals. Casey was an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks from 2008-11, while Weaver was an assistant GM for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Weaver viewed Casey as an ideal leader for his “restoring” of the Pistons. So Casey stayed. And after the Pistons went 20-52 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Weaver decided he liked what he saw behind the-scenes and offered an extension.
Casey has also had input in personnel decisions. For example, he was one of several individuals who lobbied for the Pistons to trade for Bojan Bogdanovic last summer.
“It’s a big plus for me coming here, being able to have this kind of coach,” Weaver said after Casey signed his extension. “First-time GM, having to deal with a coaching change or ill decision there can take away from the growth process. Coming here, having a great coach already in place, stability, was really huge in us being able to put out a plan and process together, and him leading it.”
Casey has had a full vote of confidence, not only from Weaver, but from senior advisor Arn Tellem and ownership as well. Despite the win-loss record, there have been signs of growth from Detroit’s young players — namely, Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart and this season’s rookie duo of Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey — and few indications of discontent from their young roster. Through a turbulent time, he has given the franchise a guiding hand.
“I never felt like I didn’t have a vote of confidence,” Casey said in 2021. “I didn’t think it was needed. We’re all on target with our plan. I’m very appreciative of Tom and Troy and Arn to have faith in me to continue building. That’s the sign that’s showing consistency, continuity is so important in this league. It says a lot about the vision of Tom and Troy and Arn to have that vision, because it takes that.”
The Pistons improved marginally last season, finishing with 23 wins in an 82-game season. After adding Bogdanovic last offseason, the organization was eager to take an even bigger leap forward.
Of course, that has not happened. Cade Cunningham played 12 games before a shin fracture prematurely ended his season. Cunningham’s absence sank Detroit’s hopes of ascending in a competitive Eastern Conference. Injuries have also decimated the roster late in the season. Bogdanovic played his last game on March 1, and the Pistons had just seven players available on their main roster entering Wednesday’s game.
Injuries may be a valid factor behind the record. It doesn’t change the fact that 16 wins — a historically bad total — is hard to stomach.
Accountability typically starts with the coach.
What’s next for Casey?
Throughout this season, when discussing the future of the Pistons, Casey has spoken as though he’ll be part of it. The front office has long viewed 2023 as an ideal turning point, after three years of embracing a full rebuild. He has noted that expectations will be different next season. Rather than prioritizing growth and learning opportunities, he would shorten his leash. He’s been transparent about the fact that it’s hard to develop and win at the same time.
Casey remains confident that the Pistons are close to putting the rebuild behind them. His Raptors went from the bottom to the top, eventually winning a championship after his dismissal by trading DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard. The Pistons will get Cunningham back next season. They’ll have a top-five pick in a draft with a transformational prospect at the top in Victor Wembanyama, and plenty of cap space to improve the roster. They may not be a contender, but they could make a run at the playoffs.
A quick turnaround is in reach, though the front office will have to nail its decisions this offseason. After meeting with ownership Wednesday night, Casey was uncertain about his future.
He acknowledged it would be meaningful for him to have the opportunity to return and coach a healthier, more-experienced roster, and continue the path set when Weaver arrived.
It’s not up to him, though, and he says he’s prepared for whatever comes next.
“It would be good, but I want to do what’s best for this organization, whether it’s coming back coaching,” Casey said. “I love coaching, I love teaching. I’m not going to sit here and predict the future. We’ll see what happens in the future. We’ve got two games to go. There will be a lot of time to sit down and figure everything out, whether it’s coming back here to coach or whatever decision Tom has and Troy have for me.
“I’m a big boy. I’m not going to fade away or fade into the sunset or anything like that,” he continued. “There’s a lot of basketball still in me. I’m not sitting here looking for pity or anything like that. Whatever Tom decides to do and Troy decides to do, it will be that way.”