Dwane Casey on the Fan 590

[Built Ford Tough]

I didn't catch it as I was at work but here is a recap that a poster over at Real GM wrote up.

 

- He and some of the players got together in LA for four days after summer league to workout and get to know each other (mentioned Lowry, Fields, Lucas, Derozan). Said they got to get to know each other, went out for dinner and ran through what they want to do this season with the new players.

 

- Offensively they really want to play up tempo and push the ball and quicken the pace. He said they wanted to do that last season but didn't really have the personel to accomplish that on a regular basis.This season he feels they've added players that fit that type of system. They want to catch defenses before they get a chance to set up and that all starts with our defense which has to continue to be a main priority.

 

- He has spoken to Jose directly throughout the summer and says he told him he wasn't sure yet who'll start at PG. He went on to say that Jose is coming to a stage in his career where he can become a valuable player off the bench and would be just that on top teams throughout the NBA. He said we saw that in the Olympics, he started but as the tournament went on his minutes diminished a little while younger players got their time. If he does come off the bench it's just as important as he would have to raise the level of the 2nd unit. And who starts may not be who is on the floor to end games.

 

- Very excited about Valanciunas (will be in Toronto next week), he's another player that can run the floor very well which helps with what they want to do offensively. He's extremely competetive, aggressive and quick for his size which is rare. He will need to slow down a little, as many rookies have a tendancy to do everything in a hurried fashion. We want him to slow down a little which allows him to take it up to another level when he needs to. His biggest problem will be learning how to defend at the NBA level vs defending in Europe and fouls will probably be a problem, at least early in the season. Offensively he is raw but has great instincts, he loves contact and is great on screen and rolls.

 

- Great to have a regular training camp and be able to have players in the city early as they prepare for training camp in Halifax in a month. Last year with the abrupt end of the lockout players were scrambling to find places to live last minute as they were preparing for pre-season and there were a lot of distractions.

 

Nothing really interesting but given the lack of Raptors news I figured I'd post this anyways.

 

In regards to the first point about players meeting up in LA after Summer League, I also believe that Ed Davis was there. I don't know for sure, but I remember reading something about Amir Johnson being there as well, but I'm not 100% sure on him. I do know that Davis was there, though.

 

One thing I found pretty funny is the way he talks about Calderon. If somebody had no idea who Jose Calderon was they would probably assume that he was some grizzled, 37 year old vet or something and not a guy who just turned 30.