By Blake Froling
Dwayne Casey, one of the of the leading candidates for the Detroit Pistons head coaching vacancy, appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” today with Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman.
The conversation turned toward how difficult it is to win in the NBA without stars, and Kellerman asked Casey if he thought Detroit’s Blake Griffin was in that star category. While he wouldn’t specifically say if Griffin is above Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, two players he coached in Toronto, Casey did have high praise for the Pistons forward.
“I know one thing that Blake Griffin is a star in this league,” said Casey. “I haven’t coached him, but again his abilities, his IQ is off the charts…I’ll let you know once I coach him down the road, but you got Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, so you got some good pieces there in Detroit.”
Casey is one of two leading finalists for the Pistons’ opening, along with San Antonio Spurs assistant Ime Udoka. TNT’s Kenny Smith has also been reported as a finalist. Detroit is still without a general manager as well.