NBA Free Agency: Grading This Offseason's 9 Head Coach Hirings So Far

Detroit Pistons - Dwane Casey to replace Stan Van Gundy

Past experience: From 2005 to 2007, he served as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves experiencing limited amounts of success. From 2007 to 2011, he served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks under Rick Carlisle and was part of the championship team in 2011. From 2011 to 2018, he served as the Raptors head coach, leading them to the best record in franchise history this past season, a Conference Finals appearance, and the best record in the East this past season.

How will he fit: I'm a bit biased here, as a Raptors fan I'm a huge Casey fan. He is the greatest coach in Raptors' history but was let go because of his inability to get past LeBron James. There are arguments that can be made this was more because of the players than the coaching, regardless Casey has moved on with the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons are currently in a mess, with most of their salary tied up with their two bigs: Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin. Blake needs to become a superstar and be healthy for this team to make the playoffs. I believe the talent is here and Casey is a good coach. He should be able to lead them to the playoffs.

However, the team is in an awkward state, which is not unfamiliar with Casey. He was able to take the awkward Raptors team of 2011 into a championship contender in a short span. His ability to adapt has been noted, the Raptors went from a more isolation type of team to a spread the floor and pass the ball around the franchise. He is a coach of the year candidate and will be a big part of the Pistons returning to the playoffs.

Grade: A -