case study

MINI CASE Dwane Casey and the Toronto Raptors wane Casey is the winningest coach in the history of the joined the team in 2011, the Raptors were one of the worst teams in the league, and had consistent losing seasons (where they lost more games than they won). But only two years later, in 2013, the Raptors made it to the playoffs, and they have returned every year since. Dwane Casey is credited with over- hauling the Raptors culture, and developing top-rated talent for the Raptors, by holding all players accountable to the same high standards, from star players to relative unknowns. He is known as a coach who enforces strict team rules that are clearly communicated to all players at the start of the season. He focused the team's efforts on strength and conditioning, by challenging each player to reduce their body fat to less than 10 percent (which all but one player achieved), and he assigned all players specific goals in the off-season and monitored their progress through summer. Players who failed to reach their targets were given extra workouts. He required players to have their shirts tucked during practiceif a player was late for a practice or a team meeting, they were fined; if players failed to pick up after themselves, they were fined. Casey has been quoted as saying "If a guy's not disciplined off the floor he's not going to be disciplined on the floor Casey also enforced team building and cohesion. The Raptors had one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, with approximately two-thirds of the team being young players, while one-third were veterans. Casey actively promoted unity between the groups by requiring all team members to put in the same amount of time on the court, and then leaving together on the team bus when practice was over. The 2017-2018 season was Toronto's most successful year. The team finished first in the Eastern Conference with a franchise record 59 wins in the regular season. On May 9, Casey was named the NBAS Coach of the Year by his peers. However, on May 11, Casey was fired by the Raptors. After finishing at the top of their division, and beating the Washington Wizards in the first round of playoffs, the Raptors were favoured to win round two against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the team didn't win a game, and were swept 0-4. This is the second year in a row that the Raptors have been eliminated from the Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs without winning a game against the Cavaliers. It seems that what worked in the regular season hasn't worked for the Raptors in the post season, and while Dwane Casey received his share of credit for the Raptors' regular season, he is receiving all of the blame for the Raptors'post-season performance Apply Your Understanding 1. Is Dwane Casey a leader or a manager for the Toronto Raptors? 2. Describe how Dwane Casey was able to change the Rap- tors' culture. 3. How does the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory of leadership apply to this case? CS Scanned with CamScanner