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TORONTO -- Dwane Casey has been carrying around a contract in his briefcase for the past few months, signed by all the Toronto Raptors and the teams staff. The contract, just two or three lines long and something that "wouldnt hold up in court," Casey said laughing, was a pledge of commitment. Its headline: "Im all in." Perhaps no one was more committed than Casey to the Raptors success this season, and on Tuesday, the 57-year-old coach was rewarded with a new three-year contract. The announcement came two days after Torontos season ended, but a couple of months after GM Masai Ujiri first approached the coach to get a new deal done. "Coach Casey was really classy because he said to me and he said to the players, Lets leave this and concentrate on the season, this is our chance to prove ourselves," Ujiri said, recounting his initial contract talks with Casey back in March. "He said, If Ive preached that to the players, then I owe it to them to continue this and well talk about (contract negotiations) after the season. I really give him credit for that." Casey led a young Raptors team to a remarkable and unexpected season that included a franchise-record 48 wins, an Atlantic Division title, and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Toronto pushed the vastly experienced Brooklyn Nets to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, losing Game 7 by just a point. Casey said he drew up his "Im all in" pledge right after the February all-star break. In their next game, the Raptors recorded a big 103-93 win at Washington. "(It was about) committing to the process. Leaving their egos at the door," said Casey, who said he might have the contract framed. "Each player dedicated themselves, gave themselves to the season, and also as far as Im concerned to the future. Because this year was just a start of what we want to grow and develop with Masai as our leader and also the guys that are coming back here." Kyle Lowry was the first player to jump up and sign the pledge, said Casey. Retaining Lowry, the point guard whose teammates say was their heart and soul this season, will be one of the Raptors top priorities in the coming weeks -- the 28-year-old becomes a free agent on July 1. Lowry spoke glowingly in exit interviews a day earlier about his love for his teammates and the city, and Ujiri sounded, on Tuesday, as if the feeling was mutual. "Its very important (to re-sign Lowry) in terms of continuity," Ujiri said. "Kyle has had a phenomenal year. I thought Kyle was a huge, huge key to our season. For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here. "Hes grown tremendously, to be coached and to work with," Ujiri continued. "His teammates, everybody has said that. Were proud of him. And so well go through that process, but were optimistic stuff will happen." Lowry and his teammates praised Casey in season-ending media interviews, noting the consistency of his message. For his part, Casey said he never considered testing the market. Ujiri made a commitment to the coach when the season began, and Casey said it was only fair he reciprocate. Caseys job status was uncertain when the season began. He was hired by Bryan Colangelo, and Ujiri had just replaced Colangelo as GM. "Masai could have made any decision when he first took over the job last spring." Casey said. "He was true to his word, he gave all of us a platform to go out and prove and show, even the players, what you can do. And he was true to his word. Thats all you can ask for in this business is an opportunity. "It would be so disingenuous to even go out and put your foot in the market and think that was a possibility, so I didnt even give it a second thought. My heart is here, my mind is here." The Raptors thrived after the seven-player deal last December that sent Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. Casey, who is almost fatherly in the way he communicates with his team, worked four new players into the roster, and from that point forward Toronto had the best mark in the Eastern Conference at 41-22. Casey and Ujiri were proud of the teams performance in the playoffs. They squared off against a Nets team that was built for success right now, whereas the Raptors are very much a work in progress. Casey was named head coach in June 2011, shortly after he helped guide the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA title. When asked which season -- the championship in Dallas, or this Raptors campaign -- was more satisfying, he said this one. "Its far more gratifying watching kids grow, watching development ... watching guys go through Game 6, when our compete level in the first half was probably one of the lowest we had all year, and then turn it around and put ourselves in a position to win the game," Casey said. Casey said the biggest mistake the team can make now is be complacent, so improvement is the focus of the off-season. He pointed out how sophomore centre Jonas Valanciunas will work with NBA legend and former Raptor Hakeem Olajuwon over the summer. The coach said, for his part, hell do what he does every off-season and examine tape of every game, looking for what they did wrong, what they could have done better. Both Casey and Ujiri spoke again about the incredible fan support in Toronto, noting that support helps when theyre trying to sell the city to free agents. Casey called it easily the best in the NBA and compared it to the 1996 NBA finals. He was with the Seattle SuperSonics that year, bowing in the final series to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. "KeyArena was rocking, loud. The Finals in 96, I thought that was loud," Casey said. "That didnt compare to the Air Canada Centre on Sunday when Deron Williams was shooting his free throws (in the dying seconds). You could just hear it vibrating. The official had to lean over to me and whisper in my ear, which I felt kinda creepy ... but you couldnt hear yourself talk. Thats a home-court advantage, its second to none in the league." Ujiri mentioned his predecessor at the end of Tuesdays 45-minute news conference at Air Canada Centre. "I think Bryan Colangelo did an unbelievable job here," he said. "He hired Dwane Casey. The starting five were picked by Bryan Colangelo as young players. I think the guy did an unbelievable job. He was a boss here, my boss and a mentor. He needs to be given some credit." Casey was named NBA Eastern Conference coach of the month in December. The Raptors finished in the Top 10 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.450) and points allowed (98.0), and also posted a franchise-best 22 road wins. TORONTO -- The Raptors have talked the talk. Now they have to walk the walk in Brooklyn. Toronto backed up their GMs two-word foray into the world of trash-talk by evening their first-round playoff series with the Nets at one game apiece via a 100-95 win Tuesday night. The series now switches to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Game 3 Friday and Game 4 Sunday. "Its going to be a new frontier," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said Wednesday prior to flying to New York. "Weve been a good road team in hostile situations, hostile gyms. Our guys have responded." Toronto collected 22 wins on the road this season, tied with Miami and Washington for tops in the Eastern Conference (the 22 road wins would have tied for eighth in the Western Conference). One of those away wins came in Brooklyn, where Toronto was 1-1 this season. The teams also split their two regular-season games at the Air Canada Centre. Add in the first two games of this series and the teams are 3-3 against each other this season. The trash-talking in Toronto has essentially been restricted to general manager Masai Ujiris out-of-nowhere insult to Brooklyn at a fan gathering prior to Game 1. But Ujiris two-word slur continues to loom large. Veteran Net Kevin Garnett, no stranger to trash-talk himself, has openly wondered what the Raptors reception will be given the GMs comment. "I dont know if you can say F Brooklyn and then come into Brooklyn," Garnett said Tuesday night. "So were about to see what its like." Trash-talking is not the 57-year-old Caseys style. A basketball coach on the court and life teacher off it, he understands talking smack is something that fuels a great player like Garnett. But he gives his young charges different advice. "I say play basketball. Youve got to play, stand up for yourself, protect your position and play basketball. Let your game speak for yourself." Toronto guard Kyle Lowry was unconcerned about what awaits in Brooklyn. "Their crowds loud," said Lowry, who points to Portland and Oklahoma City as two of the leagues more hostile stops. "They get real loud, they get chants going. "When you have a good team, your crowd is always going to give you energy. You feed off of it." Does that intimidate you, he was asked? "No. I love it," he answered. In fact, Lowry welcomes life on the road, being on hostile ground, us against the world. "Its fun. Its wwhat you play for.dddddddddddd It brings your competitive nature out even more. Because you want to shut the crowd up." In the Raptors first dip into the post-season waters since 2008, Lowry acknowledged "the lights were probably a little bright" for Game 1. "After that, the lights were dim," he said, meaning the team had adjusted its eyesight to the playoff picture. "Every game were going to get more comfortable," he added. Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, who went from 14 points in Saturdays 94-87 Game 1 loss to 30 points including a string of big baskets late in the Game 2 win, also admitted the playoffs have been a revelation. "Night and day," he said when asked to compare the intensity. "I wouldnt trade it for the world. Its the best feeling, to play at the highest level of basketball. But its definitely night and day because every single thing matters. Everything." Lowry said part of the Raptors coming together has been the team chemistry, which he describes as unbelievable. "I can pick up my phone and call any of my teammates and have a conversation -- serious, joking. Its just cool, its just great to have a group of guys who really get along." "We really are like a band of brothers," he said by way of summary. "Its just a great group of guys," echoed DeRozan. "I think it showed with our play throughout the whole season." That bond has been helped by the many doubters that have decried the team this season, according to Casey who has taken every opportunity to portray his team as the underdogs. "Were all fighting for something ... that bonds you when your back is against the wall," he said. "Theres nobody in the league that gives us a chance against a veteran championship-laden team as Brooklyn, except ourselves." Toronto was the beneficiary of a raucous sellout crowd the first two games of the series. Casey said the ACC atmosphere was better than championship series he has seen. Now its Brooklyns turn to have home-field advantage. "Its a new beginning, a new frontier, a new experience -- that the only way youre going to get it is to go through it," Casey said of playing on the road in the playoffs. "We can talk about it, but I have faith in our guys and confidence in our guys that were going to go in there, as a group, bonded together, and fight together. Thats all we can do." 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