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Dwane Casey expected to sign extension with Toronto Raptors

By Dan Schmelzer

Apr 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey gestures to his players in the second half of a 122-98 win over Philadelphia 76ers at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey gestures to his players in the second half of a 122-98 win over Philadelphia 76ers at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Raptors are reportedly close to a contract extension with head coach Dwane Casey.

After leading them to a 56-26 regular season record and their first-ever trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are looking to sign head coach Dwane Casey to a contract extension. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the two sides could come to a deal by the end of the week.

Casey just finished up his fifth season as the head coach of the Raptors, showing a record of 263-253 in those five seasons. While strong moves by the front office and the players on the court obviously had a lot to do with the Raptors’ success, Casey deserves a lot of credit for helping turn around the franchise as well.

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has always been a strong supporter of Casey, standing behind him when many in the media called for his job. Most recently, there was speculation about Casey returning to the Raptors after his second-seeded team struggled against the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first-round of the playoffs.

However, the Raptors were able to get all the way to the Conference Finals and even gave LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money. From his perspective, Ujiri seems to think that the extension between Casey and the Raptors will be an easy negotiation.

“I’ve had discussions with his agent,” Ujiri said on Monday, according to James Herbert of CBS Sports. “We continue to discuss. But coach Casey is our coach for the future. I think that’s very easy for us to figure out. That’ll be done in our sleep, I think.”

Ujiri and Casey have done a great job of getting the Raptors to this point, and with a continued relationship seeming imminent, it will be interesting to see if they can get the franchise to take the next step and become true championship contenders.

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