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Here's how you fix the situation: you cast the spell, and then you experience lag. Putting the concentration delay after the spell as a cooldown rather than a warm-up allows casters to actually start doing things at the same time melee does. They're no longer constantly late to the party. Dulrik could make the concentration phase of casting last a flat 5 pulses (three-quarters of a second) on every single spell and then take the difference between this and the current time cost, if any, and apply it as forced cooldown lag after the spell is cast if he wanted to preserve the "reaction opportunity" to casting's somatic and verbal components.
Problem is that this would likely contribute to the already observed gulf between casters and melee. Due to the recent decline in readily accessible high-save items, one could argue that casters are already at a power high, and this would contribute even more.
However...
I love this idea. NPCs would be scary dangerous then, but I think I'd like that. No "so-and-so starts to concentrate" and you panic spam bash/trip, giving you time to avoid a possible charm/death from other means. Alpha-strike spells might actually be used more by the caster's themselves instead of depending on devices. Hell, normal attack spells might actually be used more in general.