Dwane Casey Signs Five-Year Deal As Pistons’ New Head Coach

Dwane Casey on Monday signed a five-year deal to become the Detroit Pistons‘ next head coach.

Dwane Casey To Become Pistons’ Next Coach

No additional details on the contract have been revealed. The Toronto Raptors fired Casey, 61, after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the team in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Raptors finished the regular season with the top seed in the East after winning a franchise-record 59 games.

Casey — a former Minnesota Timberwolves coach — replaces Stan Van Gundy, who was dismissed in May with just one year remaining on his deal as Pistons coach and president. Detroit only reached the postseason once in Van Gundy’s four-year tenure.

The Pistons recently brought on Ed Stefanski, a former Nets general manager, as a senior adviser to spearhead their hunt for new top officials within the team’s front office.

Detroit and Toronto are the only two NBA teams that still have coaching vacancies.

The Pistons are hoping to build their team around Andre Drummond and All-Star Blake Griffin, whom Detroit acquired via a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in February.

“They have a good team, they have a good roster and a very dynamic owner in Tom Gores, who is doing a lot of things for the city of Detroit,” Casey said of the Pistons. “It’s a little bit more than just coaching basketball … that appealed to me also and to my family. Doing a lot of stuff in the community, rebuilding downtown, helping out Flint in their water situation — so just a lot more things involved, more than just basketball.”

Casey is widely considered to be a strong contender to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award. He was fined during the 2016 playoffs for criticizing game officials.

The Pistons haven’t won a playoff game since 2008.