Toronto Raptors announced on Friday that they have fired their head coach Dwane Casey. This decision came after an early playoff exit handed to them by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Casey had one year left on his $6.5 million worth contract.

The Toronto Raptors organization has announced they have parted ways with head coach Dwane Casey.

More: https://t.co/esTdL383Ze

Masai Ujiri press conference live NOW via Raptors mobile app. pic.twitter.com/FEqnZEhZU0

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 11, 2018

“After careful consideration, I have decided this is a very difficult but necessary step the franchise must take,” – said Raptors president Masai Ujiri in a statement. “As a team, we are constantly trying to grow and improve in order to get to the next level. We celebrate everything Dwane has done for the organization, we thank him, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. He was instrumental in creating the identity and culture of who we are as a team, and we are so proud of that.“

Dwane Casey left the Toronto Raptors as the most successful coach in franchise’s history. He took over the Raptors in 2011 and improved the team’s record in six of the seven seasons. He also led them to the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.

The 2017-18 regular season was particularly successful for Dwane Casey since he coached the Raptors to number one seed in the Eastern Conference and 59 wins, which represent the franchise’s record. Still, Casey couldn’t translate regular season success to the playoffs, being eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the past three seasons.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Toronto Raptors are considering former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse and G League coach Jerry Stackhouse for the vacant head coach position.

Dwane Casey, on the other side, has immediately become a favorite for number of head coaching jobs in the NBA including Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks.

The post Toronto Raptors Fire Coach Dwane Casey appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Raptors finished the regular NBA season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with a 59-23 record. They posted a franchise record for most wins in a regular season and were tied with Houston Rockets as the NBA’s best team at the home court. Still, that didn’t matter much to Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who called the season a “wasted year” after his team was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

“We felt like we could possibly make the NBA Finals,” – said Lowry during the Raptors’ exit interviews. “That was our goal.“

Toronto Raptors’ hopes of the for NBA Finals vapored away on Monday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the elimination Game 4 in a big fashion, 128-93. Kyle Lowry only had five points in this game alongside four rebounds and 10 assists. This was the third straight season that the Raptors are being eliminated by the Cavs and LeBron James in the playoffs.

“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” – Lowry added. “We’ve continuously failed against the team that made the Finals the last three years.“

His teammate DeMar DeRozan also feels bad about the defeat.

“This is probably the toughest, most frustrating, difficult, lowest feeling I’ve had,” – said DeRozan. “You get to that point where you’re standing firm through everything and you feel like you can’t get knocked down again, and you realize you do get knocked back down again. It’s kind of the worst feeling.“

It looks like all the good that Toronto Raptors did this regular season was erased with their poor performance in the playoffs. Sources close to the Raptors are reporting that the front office is preparing some major changes and are even considering replacing NBA Coach of the Year candidate Dwane Casey. There are also talks that the team might consider resetting their roster. Whether this turns out to be true or not, the Raptors are facing another challenging offseason in which they will try to find the way to beat The King.

The post Raptors’ Record-Breaking Season a “Wasted Year” After Early Playoff Exit Says Kyle Lowry appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Raptors will be without power forward Serge Ibaka in the game against Atlanta Hawks. The team announced on Friday that they have suspended the player for having an altercation with a staff member, which happened after Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 28-year-old should return for the Raptors’ first game in 2018, duel against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Both parties have apologized. We’ve discussed this internally as a team, and we won’t be discussing it any further,” – said Raptors president Masai Ujiri in a statement. “Now we’re focused on moving forward together, and we look forward to having Serge back in the lineup.“

Serge Ibaka had a poor game in the Raptors loss against Thunder, having 7 points, 2 assists, and only 2 rebounds. It was a second straight loss for Raptors, who were previously on a six-game winning streak. The team is now sitting at the second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 23-10 record.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who later became Oklahoma City Thunder, were the team that drafted Ibaka in the NBA when they selected him with a 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He stayed for one additional year in Europe, playing for Spain’s Ricoh Manresa, before joining the Thunder in 2009. With the Thunder, Ibaka flourished as a player, especially on the defensive end, being selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for three years straight (from 2012 to 2014) and was NBA blocks leader in 2012 and 2013. He was traded in the 2016 offseason to the Orlando Magic, where he played for 56 games and tied his career high in points average with 15.1 points per game. He was traded at the beginning of 2017 to the Toronto Raptors. In the offseason, he signed on a three-year, $65 million contract extension with the team after averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 23 games played.

The post Toronto Raptors Suspend Forward Serge Ibaka One Game for Violating Team Rules appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Raptors announced on Friday that they have fired their head coach Dwane Casey. This decision came after an early playoff exit handed to them by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Casey had one year left on his $6.5 million worth contract.

The Toronto Raptors organization has announced they have parted ways with head coach Dwane Casey.

More: https://t.co/esTdL383Ze

Masai Ujiri press conference live NOW via Raptors mobile app. pic.twitter.com/FEqnZEhZU0

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 11, 2018

“After careful consideration, I have decided this is a very difficult but necessary step the franchise must take,” – said Raptors president Masai Ujiri in a statement. “As a team, we are constantly trying to grow and improve in order to get to the next level. We celebrate everything Dwane has done for the organization, we thank him, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. He was instrumental in creating the identity and culture of who we are as a team, and we are so proud of that.“

Dwane Casey left the Toronto Raptors as the most successful coach in franchise’s history. He took over the Raptors in 2011 and improved the team’s record in six of the seven seasons. He also led them to the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.

The 2017-18 regular season was particularly successful for Dwane Casey since he coached the Raptors to number one seed in the Eastern Conference and 59 wins, which represent the franchise’s record. Still, Casey couldn’t translate regular season success to the playoffs, being eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the past three seasons.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Toronto Raptors are considering former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse and G League coach Jerry Stackhouse for the vacant head coach position.

Dwane Casey, on the other side, has immediately become a favorite for number of head coaching jobs in the NBA including Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks.

The post Toronto Raptors Fire Coach Dwane Casey appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Raptors finished the regular NBA season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with a 59-23 record. They posted a franchise record for most wins in a regular season and were tied with Houston Rockets as the NBA’s best team at the home court. Still, that didn’t matter much to Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who called the season a “wasted year” after his team was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

“We felt like we could possibly make the NBA Finals,” – said Lowry during the Raptors’ exit interviews. “That was our goal.“

Toronto Raptors’ hopes of the for NBA Finals vapored away on Monday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the elimination Game 4 in a big fashion, 128-93. Kyle Lowry only had five points in this game alongside four rebounds and 10 assists. This was the third straight season that the Raptors are being eliminated by the Cavs and LeBron James in the playoffs.

“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” – Lowry added. “We’ve continuously failed against the team that made the Finals the last three years.“

His teammate DeMar DeRozan also feels bad about the defeat.

“This is probably the toughest, most frustrating, difficult, lowest feeling I’ve had,” – said DeRozan. “You get to that point where you’re standing firm through everything and you feel like you can’t get knocked down again, and you realize you do get knocked back down again. It’s kind of the worst feeling.“

It looks like all the good that Toronto Raptors did this regular season was erased with their poor performance in the playoffs. Sources close to the Raptors are reporting that the front office is preparing some major changes and are even considering replacing NBA Coach of the Year candidate Dwane Casey. There are also talks that the team might consider resetting their roster. Whether this turns out to be true or not, the Raptors are facing another challenging offseason in which they will try to find the way to beat The King.

The post Raptors’ Record-Breaking Season a “Wasted Year” After Early Playoff Exit Says Kyle Lowry appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Raptors will be without power forward Serge Ibaka in the game against Atlanta Hawks. The team announced on Friday that they have suspended the player for having an altercation with a staff member, which happened after Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 28-year-old should return for the Raptors’ first game in 2018, duel against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Both parties have apologized. We’ve discussed this internally as a team, and we won’t be discussing it any further,” – said Raptors president Masai Ujiri in a statement. “Now we’re focused on moving forward together, and we look forward to having Serge back in the lineup.“

Serge Ibaka had a poor game in the Raptors loss against Thunder, having 7 points, 2 assists, and only 2 rebounds. It was a second straight loss for Raptors, who were previously on a six-game winning streak. The team is now sitting at the second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 23-10 record.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who later became Oklahoma City Thunder, were the team that drafted Ibaka in the NBA when they selected him with a 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He stayed for one additional year in Europe, playing for Spain’s Ricoh Manresa, before joining the Thunder in 2009. With the Thunder, Ibaka flourished as a player, especially on the defensive end, being selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for three years straight (from 2012 to 2014) and was NBA blocks leader in 2012 and 2013. He was traded in the 2016 offseason to the Orlando Magic, where he played for 56 games and tied his career high in points average with 15.1 points per game. He was traded at the beginning of 2017 to the Toronto Raptors. In the offseason, he signed on a three-year, $65 million contract extension with the team after averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 23 games played.

The post Toronto Raptors Suspend Forward Serge Ibaka One Game for Violating Team Rules appeared first on SportzBonanza.