Masai Ujiri gave Dwane Casey a public statement of support as head coach of the Toronto Raptors ahead of the playoffs.

Ujiri would like Casey to continue as head coach of the Raptors even if they don't get past the first round. The Raptors were eliminated in the first round in 2014 by the Nets and in 2015 by the Wizards.

"He's been phenomenal, I think, whether it's reading games or adjustments and just growth overall as a coach," Ujiri said. "To be honest, everybody makes such a big deal about it, like, OK, if we don't go past the first round, what's going to happen? Coach Casey deserves to be the coach, that's 100 percent and I stand by that.

"He deserves to be our coach in the future because he's put in the work to bring winning to our program. Players have responded well and it's translated a little bit. We hope that it translates to the playoffs and Im very hopeful that it will because he's a defensive-minded coach. I think he's been tremendous for us."