Toronto Raptors 2014-15 season came to an end Sunday night as the Washington Wizards closed out the playoff sweep. For the Raptors the campaign began 22-6 and reached 33-12. It all began to fall apart post all-star break, then abruptly wrapped up with a Washington Wizards sweep in the first round of the NBA playoffs. A four-game sweep that ended after an embarrassing 125-94 defeat in the final game of the series.

In their twentieth anniversary since entering the NBA the Raptors hoped for a better end to the season. As the lone Canadian NBA team they set a franchise record 49-wins this season – still the only team in the association to not win 50 games in a season.

Sources close to the situation told Hoops Hype Canada that a disagreement between head coach Dwane Casey and this past summers free-agent signing James Johnson was largely the reason responsible for reported discord inside the Raptors locker room and the derailment of the 2014-15 campaign.

According to sources, Johnson called out Casey two months ago accusing the fourth year Raptor head coach of becoming ‘stale’ and a ‘broken record’. Johnson’s displeasure with Casey stemmed from lack of creativeness, ‘babying’ the team’s stars and for neglecting the rest of the players on the roster.

The sources speaking to HHC anonymously mentioned that the Casey and Johnson tiff became a distraction after the disagreement. Johnson became reluctant to play with the same sense of urgency he had earlier in the season. Also, he failed to keep in the same physical shape he was in when he signed a two year $5-million dollar deal with Toronto last summer.

“Johnson was brought to Toronto to play the role of a veteran and lead by example. Casey felt betrayed.” HHC sources said.

Consensus among the Raptors organization was that anything less than a second round playoff appearance would be deemed a disappointment. The Raptors were embarrassing to watch during the first-round. Failing to achieve the season-end goal puts any coach on the hot-seat, but internal issues have got the attention of Raptors management.

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, determined to build a sustainable winning culture in Canada, is now “seriously” pondering a coaching change. Recently fired Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks is the front runner to be Casey’s successor sources confirmed with Hoops Hype Canada.

Over the course of the last seven seasons, Brooks accumulated a 338-207 (.620) record with the Thunder. He was named the 2009-10 NBA Coach of the Year. An NBA veteran of over 24 years as a head coach, assistant and player, Brooks helped guide the Thunder to three appearances in the Western Conference Finals (2011, 2012, 2014), and a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals. The bonus aspect of Brooks as coach is how much his players in OKC liked playing for him. Durant and Westbrook have been vocal about that through the years.

Casey has taken heat not only from players like Johnson but also management who has been disappointed in Casey’s substitution patterns. Management have taken notice of the number of games lost in the final minutes of various contests throughout the season.

For example, on March 23rd in Detroit when Lou Williams missed a last-second three-pointer in a loss to the Pistons, Casey late game tactics were heavily scrutinized. His decision to not utilize a timeout and rather run the clock out only to see Williams hoist a three ball attempt from well-beyond the arc raised many eyebrows from management.

“When you lose games in the final two minutes, it’s more on the coaching then the players,” a source touched upon.

Dwane Casey would exit Toronto with the highest winning percentage of any coach in Raptors franchise history at .494 (154-158).

Hiring Brooks with his formidable resume would also automatically turn up the Kevin Durant to Toronto talks in 2016. Durant’s free agency is something Ujiri has kept an eye on. A combination of Durant’s old coach in addition to his high school buddy Greivis Vasquez in Toronto would make the Raptors an attractable destination if the former NBA Most Valuable Player ultimately decides to depart from the Thunder via free agency next summer.

Vasquez and Durant both from the Maryland area were best friends in high school. Durant was one of the guys who taught Vasquez how to speak English while the two were teammates at Montrose Christian.

HHC sources say that outside of Vasquez and Kyle Lowry the entire roster will be re-evaluated this upcoming offseason. Looking forward to the summer of 2016 only Lowry and Patrick Patterson have guaranteed contracts. DeMar DeRozan also has a cheap player option which he may decline in an effort to earn a handsome raise.

This summer upcoming Raptor free agents that have an option to test the market are Amir Johnson, Louis Williams, Tyler Hansborough, Landry Fields, Chuck Hayes and Greg Stiemsma. If Ujiri is active this July some big-names on the market include LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe among others.

With their 13-16 record after the February NBA trade deadline something had to give. Lack of growth from young players like Terrence Ross, Jonas Valnciunas and how the team’s identity of toughness and a desire to always compete was missing in the second half of the season. Masai Ujiri is aware that many internal issues have to be addressed this summer. Releasing Casey would be one of the first dominos to fall.

A four game sweep to Washington on the heels of a seven game series lost to the Brooklyn Nets last April makes it consecutive years that Casey has been out coached in the playoffs. After signing a 3-year, $11.25 million dollar deal last summer the Raptors do hold a team option on Casey’s third and final year.

Body language of players throughout the Raptors and Wizards series was noticeably odd. Something was not right. For devoted Raptor supporters and season ticket holders internal problems are worrisome considering the ‘losing’ and ‘soft’ labels that have haunted this franchise for the better part of their twenty year existence. Also with the 2016 NBA All-Star game being held in Toronto Next season, changes are coming to this franchise.