Dwayne Casey, one of my favorite guys. Five years as Piston's head coach, almost five hundred career wins in the NBA, six playoff appearances, also coached in Japan, head coach in Minnesota, helped Dallas win a title in twenty eleven, Toronto's all time leader in coaching wins, former Coach of the Year, and former Kentucky Wildcat captain as well. And he joins us here on Exus and Bros. Dwayne, Happy Monday to you. How are you, Matt?
Great to hear your voice and great to be all with you. And you know those all those years that you brought back some great memory. Yeah.
I'd say this to people all the time, and I don't say this because you're on here. I've said it on this show a number of times. One of the things I loved most about you as a coach was when I would go to your shoot rounds before calling some of your games. I watched how you relented to some of your assistants and let them talk to the team as well. The person you took the place of I wasn't a bit fan of was. It was a constant conversation just between him and his players when this
was you and your staff. Why is that so important do you think for any coach at any level in any sport.
Well, for me, I took a play, you know, I spent a lot of I used to take my team with to the Seattle Seahawks training camp in football wherever I was coaching, when I was in Toronto, we had our coaching retreat. We would always go to spend a day with coach carl there and I watched how the football guys did it. I mean they you know, And
again it comes from trust. You know. I had an offensive coordinator defensive coordinator, but yet and steal the bucks stopped with me as they do in football, Matt and so I sold that that philosophy and it really worked out well for us in Minnesota and also too, I did the same thing. I stole it from Rick Carlisle because he allowed Terry stottson how to do it. In Dallas the year we won the champions I was in charge of the defense, Terry was in charge of the offense.
We both we all spent a lot of time together understanding what Rick wanted, and we took He gave us the leeway, the confidence and the rope to go out and run our practice. We put in the game plan, we ran the drills we wanted an individual and it helped me develop as a coach also. And so when I became a head coach again, I didn't do it in Minnesota. I was more like you say, Stan was. I dictated everything, what time with the bus left, what color towels we had, what kind of detergent we had
in towns. I did it, and it's way too much. It's just too much in today's game. But you have to have the right assistant coaches that I did that year. I did it in Toronto, and so it really really empowers the coaches to help the players. And the other thing to Matt, players get tired of one voice for the entire eighty two games, I promise you. And then when you do step in, when you do say something
in practice and in the games, it really resonates. And so that's why I came up with that philosophy.
What about coaching in the NBA is the most underrated part or what we as fans and members of the media don't see that might be the most challenging that we just don't appreciate as much.
Well, the biggest thing I think in today's game at more probably more so than ten or fifteen years ago. Our players are so well informed, so you have to get you know, you have to speak to them at a different level. You have to give the why before you do things, before you get crack the whip and yell it's doing my way to the highway. Those days are gone and so you have to give the why. And that's what JB. Bigger staff is doing a great
job now with this group. But players are informed. They they have their agents, they have the statistics, they know understand exactly what other guys are doing in the league, what they should be doing, and you have to really it's a sell job now as much as anything else. You have your rules and your parameters, what you want to do as a coach, but yet still you have to motivate them to get the buy in, to give them the why as much as anything else in today's game.
With young people in general, I would say I would say it's the same thing in football. I would say the same thing in baseball. You know, you have to really sell the guys on the why first and.
Be a coach of the year between Casey joiners here on Exis and Bros.
I loved the hire of JB.
Bickerstaff because I thought track record wise, who he is is part of making younger players better advances their game and their careers. What have you noticed most that's impressed you about how he's gone about his business in his first year as the Pistons bench boss.
I can't say enough of good things about jab the way he's a great communicator. I mean, I'm from Kentucky, I have a Kentucky accent, Kentucky ways, But Jabek he can relate to any player. He's a great communicator. He does a great job of enunciating of what he's trying to do and say. And he has a great philosophy coaching wise, and again he empowers his coaches also and so but again, the biggest difference he's done is he's
sold the defensive end of the floor. I think Trajan went out and got some really, really good offensive players and it fits today's game. And I want to repeat that they put up together a roster that fits today's game. Today's game is an offensive game. You better keep the scoreboard moving. But also too, JB has sold the guys and they bought in to his defensive philosophy. And so you got Tobias, got Elie Beasley, you got Tim Hardaway Jr. You surrounded them around kid who is really coming to
his own but now. But on the other end, JB has them playing defense. He has them protecting the plant, the pain. He's gotten Isaiah Stewart to buy into the five position. He's got JD. Durham playing playing protecting the rim, protecting the pain. So that's the biggest difference that I've seen. But again it starts with Trajan bringing the right players in for the cook in the kitchen, and JB has got them together, brought them together, got the buy in
on the defensive end. And really, if you do that the offensive part, if you have offensive players, it will take care of it, Zep. And that's what has come together for this group.
I love the balance that what Trajan Langdon has done is put together a roster that I've I give him a lot of credit all season long. I love the balance that you have of really good pros who've been around a while, experienced an awful lot, and helping the coaching staff nurture some of the younger pros. Not necessarily rookies, but younger pros who haven't experienced the same type of success and now they're reaping the rewards. Kate Cunningham a
lot gets mentioned of him, and for good reason. He didn't have a great shooting night yesterday, but he had the double double. The thing that I liked most was he only had three turnovers, and I think that's really important for a guy who handles the basketball as much as he does. I have given him a lot of credit for scoring, but the turnovers had concerned me. He's taking care of the ball a little bit better. Where has his game grown the most?
Do you think.
I would say? One thing I was telling someone earlier this morning. The game has slowed down for him, and that's the most important thing. And as much as we were upset about his injury, which we all hurt about it, it helped him mentally to think the game and see the game a little bit slower. And like you said, the turnover issue that I think that's part of the usage he has. He's handling the ball a lot, He's going to turn over some, but just making sure he
keeps that under control is huge. But his athletic talent his basketball IQ is off the charge mat to start with, and when he has the game, he's thinking the game. The game has become slower. He sees plays before they happen. He sees his pocket passes. Teams have tried to double team him to get the ball out of his hand.
He has done a great job of burning them, seeing his outlets, seeing the pocket pass, and guys are making plays out But he's allowed the game to come to him, and now his talents can come over, can take over. His shooting has improved with sets up everything. His three point shooting is outside shooting has gotten better, which sets up his drives. And now what if you notice in the game Matt, You know he had recognizes quickly whether
he has a mismatch showing him. He backs him down, gets to his sweet spot with his left or his right hand, and can finish in traffic. So watching him t play down, it's like a surgeon. You know. He cuts guys up, cuts teams up. They double team him, he passed it, they put a smaller guy on him, he takes him down. So there's a method to the madness the way he approached the game. And I'm so proud to see how he's bounced back from this major surgery.
He had the other coaches around the league when I talked to him, they all have fallen in love with him. That's why he made the All Star team, which is great. But now, like you said, he needs to continue to work on the turnovers, keep those down, keep leading the team to winning, and contribute to winning, which he like you said, he didn't shoot the ball well yesterday, but he did pass the ball well and he contributed to winning.
So JAB has him in a great place, great rhythm, and like you said, just keep thinking about how he can turn over because again he's going to turn it over, but you don't want that number to jump up to another level where you're the team.
He's such a gifted passer.
And the thing I like about him, and I know this doesn't always matter to people, I love his spirit, He loves the sport. He has embraced Detroit just as much as the city has embraced him. I love everything that he stands for, and I think the city of Detroit is really lucky to have him as a face of one of their franchises.
When when we.
Talk about you know, making, you know, the serious leap that Detroit has made and they're taking on Atlanta tonight at Little Caesars Arena. There is a confidence, there's a sense of aura about this team right now. Where do you notice that most? Like in what aspect of the game do you notice their confidence is higher than perhaps it's it's been in a long time.
And I talked to JB about this a few days ago. You know, you know, when you go through a rebuild, it's tough. I mean, we all understand and and we've seen it. I tasted it, we've gone through it. So now at that time when you jump out to a lead and then a team tries to fight back, you know, you play young players, so oh here we go again, and you can just see that lead develop and you try to motivate them, you try to get but they've
never been there before. They don't have the experience. They don't if you have a group of young players like we tried to go through a rebuild with, but now with the older players, with Malik Beasley, with Tobias with Tim Hardaway. As soon as something you know, we get down, which by the way, we don't want it, you don't want to do, but it happens, they bounce back, they continue to fight, They continue to fight through it. They
find different ways to fight through adversity. And that's one thing that this team has done and they're doing now, and that's the vibe they have. They believe, Okay, no matter what the number is, how many points they're down, they believe. And also too, with Tobias experience and with Malik's experience and with Tim's experience, they've been through it before.
They know how to get back into the game. Where if you have a young team the way we've had a couple of years, they don't know what they don't know, and so the first thing to do they turn within, they start trying to make plays on their own instead of trusting and believing in each other. And this team is doing a great job of believing and trusting each other even when at verstity hits, which is going to happen in this league. But they've done a great job
of fighting through things like that. And kudos to JB for building that type of culture and atmosphere for the players.
Yeah, and doing it so quickly. It's been fun to watch it really has. I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the shocking over the weekend trade that saw Luka Doncvich go from Dallas to LA and exchange for Anthony Davis and other players, and before you answer, would I would say this. I understand how we get caught up in offense, but to me, I would much rather have a player who is really good at both ends of the floor rather than great at one end of the floor.
I could be in the minority there.
I think Luka Doncics is is an incredibly gifted offensive player. I think he absolutely stinks on the defensive side of the ball. With that said, I have never seen in sports, not just basketball, where two high level, big name players are traded for one another.
What was your reaction when you saw.
It, Well, it was the same thing, you know you And the other thing that jumped out, Matt was the fact that you know, usually when those type of traits happened somewhere in there, it leaked out, which is one of my pet thieves. It leaks out and gets out, and now you have an unhappy player. It's going through the locker room in Dallas, is going through the locker room in LA. But kudos to Nico and also to Rob Blinka, and it didn't get out. It kept it
between those two. The owners didn't leak it out, so it really stayed with them, and I think that was the most surprising thing to our league. It didn't leak out. And again I think, you know, it's a good thing for LA because now they have a young superstar that's twenty five years old. Again, they'll have to add defense around him. As you said, you said it beautifully, but also too Dallas will be it's another good fit for Kyrie.
You have a shot blocker, a great defensive player, and an inside score with Anthony Davis, who also, by the way, as a Kentucky guy. But I like him, but again he's he's a but again maybe another change of scenery for him will will help both teams. But again I was shocked. I was surprised more so that it didn't leak out and it came out in left field with two super players. And if you don't remember Matt when I was in Dallas, so it might have happened right
before I got there. They were almost traded Dirk Nabiscuit Kobe time between the Dallas and but it leaked out, it got out, you know, Kobe was unhappy in La and so Mark almost pulled the trigger. It almost happened, it didn't, but it was a big trade. It would have been sort of the same magnitude at that time as this trade between Luca and Anthony, so big trade. The proof will be in the pudding and see if it works out and go between the two and that.
Before I finished, I want to, you know, say this. I hope our fans understand and see the growth of this team. As you mentioned, I think they do as a great vibe in the arena. It's time to come out and support them. I know we've had some hard times though the last few years, but this team represents Detroit and I think it's a great time for them to come out and support them. We've taken them through some bad times. Now let's get on that bandwagon now
and come up. We have a great homestand coming up, and I think it's a great time to come out and support them and be a part of the team.
Amen to all that.
We talk Pistons quite a bit here on this program throughout the state of Michigan, constantly promoting not just Kate Coneham, but some of the other really good players on this team, and I give full marks to Trajan Langdon, who I really really like and I thought was a perfect fit, but more so JB. Bickerstaff. I think he's a really good, strong coach. I would like to see him talk to the media just before, you know, during shoot around and stuff.
But I can't have everything I want. I can't have Dwayne Casey all the time, but I really wish I could. It's great to visit with you. Thanks for joining us, always a pleasure, and all the best to you and your family.
All right, Duane, thank you so much. Man. I'll see you down the road, buddy.