After seven seasons at the helm in Toronto, Dwane Casey's time with the Raptors came to an unceremonious end on Friday as the team announced they were cutting ties with him. His firing takes place days after Toronto, the No. 1 seed in the East, was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs.
Raptors assistant Nick Nurse is a popular name to potentially succeed Casey in Toronto but another name has emerged as a candidate in Mike Budenholzer. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Budenholzer, the 2014-15 NBA Coach of the Year, is "expected to get a close inspection" for the vacancy. Budenholzer is also a candidate to fill Milwaukee's vacancy, and reportedly met with Bucks brass on Tuesday.
Budenholzer spent five years as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks before mutually splitting in April. Since his departure, he's been mentioned as a candidate with the Suns, Knicks, Pistons and Bucks, but a fit with the Raptors -- a franchise fresh off a team-high 59-win season -- could be seamless for a coach that recently left a rebuild in Atlanta for greener pastures.
G League coach Jerry Stackhouse is also among the candidates under consideration for Toronto's newly opened vacancy. Stackhouse has been with the Toronto organization since 2015 -- first as an assistant from 2015-16, and most recently as the Raptors' 905 coach.
Under Budenholzer, the Hawks reached the playoffs four times in five seasons, including an Eastern Conference finals appearance in 2015.
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