Dwane Casey, Raptors Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have agreed to a three-year contract extension with head coach Dwane Casey.  

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, citing league sources, first reported the two sides agreed to a three-year, $18 million dollar deal June 2. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star confirmed that report.

Casey's extension is hardly a surprise. The coach led the Raptors to a 56-26 record, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and the conference finals, where they lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.

Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet gave the coach an A-plus grade for the season, noting the following:

"

Not only has the team improved every year during his time in Toronto, Casey brought the team within two wins of the Finals, showing some of his best in-series adjustments in his coaching career. Further solidifying an already improved defense is the number one task for the defensive-minded Casey as the Raptors were 0-9 in the post-season when surrendering 100 points.

"

However, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe noted on May 24 that Casey would have been fired had the Raptors not beaten the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.

In five years as the team's head coach, Casey has gone 210-184, leading Toronto to the postseason in three straight campaigns. He previously was the head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves (2005-07) and had stints as an assistant coach for the Seattle Supersonics (1994-05) and Dallas Mavericks (2008-11).

This offseason could be a transformative one for the Raptors, however. Bismack Biyombo has a player option for next season he'll likely decline, as he should command big money on the market. DeMar DeRozan also has a player option he'll almost assuredly decline, as he'll earn max money from either the Raptors or a different team in free agency.

Keeping both will be difficult for the Raptors, though Casey and the team have the ninth and 27th picks in this year's draft, which they could trade to bring in another veteran presence to complement mainstays Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph.

The Raptors have built a strong core, and Casey has gotten the most out of his players, so the future appears to be bright in Toronto. Locking him up for the foreseeable future was wisely a priority for the team this summer. Now, he'll turn to retaining his staff and convincing Biyombo and DeRozan to stay in Toronto or building around the remaining core for another run at a title in the 2016-17 season.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.