Andre Drummond Says He's 'Really Excited' After Pistons Hire Dwane Casey as HC
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond provided his stamp of approval after the organization hired Dwane Casey as its new head coach Monday.
"Love Dwane Casey," Drummond told TMZ Sports on Tuesday. "… I'm really excited to have him."
Casey joins the Pistons after spending the previous seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors. He was fired last month after the team's elimination by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals despite being named the National Basketball Coaches Association's Coach of the Year.
The 61-year-old Indiana native compiled a 320-238 record with the Raptors and guided the franchise to the postseason each of the last five years.
He posted a 53-69 record across one-and-a-half seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005 to 2007, which was his first head coaching gig.
Casey explained his decision to accept the Detroit job to ESPN Radio's Stephen A. Smith.
"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," he said. "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."
His main task in Detroit will be establishing a consistent interior game based around Drummond and Blake Griffin in a league that's become more perimeter-oriented over the past decade.
It's a change from Toronto, where he leaned on the guard tandem of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
