Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
TORONTO – Head coach Darko Rajakovic is wearing his foreman’s helmet as the Toronto Raptors press to develop their young core this season.
Rajakovic believes the Raptors have a “clean slate” in his second year in Toronto and team president Masai Ujiri called it a rebuild – a season he had previously avoided – on Monday. Rajakovic spoke in terms of construction at Raptors media day at Scotiabank Arena, with the venue itself still in the midst of renovations.
“The first thing you do when you build a house, you need to find land where you want to build your house,” said Rajakovic. “After that you need to dig a very big hole so you can make your basement and work on the foundation of the house.
“A lot of the time, from the street, you can’t see what’s going on. You cannot see the results very quickly. But those are the most important steps we’re going to be taking right now.”
Ujiri tore up the Raptors roster last season in a series of trades that essentially ended Toronto’s 2019 NBA championship run. That included sending steady defenders OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett from Mississauga, Ont. It also involved trading star forward Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in another blockbuster deal.
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That turnover and a series of injuries to key players like star forward Scottie Barnes and starting center Jakob Poeltl led to a disastrous 25-57 record in Rajakovic’s first season as an NBA head coach.
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Toronto also restocked its depth, making trades during the NBA Draft to bring in four young prospects: Ja’Kobe Walter (19th overall), Jonathan Mogbo (31st), Jamal Shead (45th) and Ulrich Chomche (57th ).
Rajakovic said that when the Raptors rebuild gets to the more obvious features of its conversion like installing walls, roof and windows, it will be thanks to work behind the scenes.
“A lot of film, a lot of education on and off the court that we have to do this year,” he said. “I’m going to have a much more holistic approach to developing our team and roster.
“The most important thing will be not to skip any steps. If we need to wait a little longer for some teaching and implementation of things, we’re going to stick with that until we get to the level where we believe it’s time to take the next step to’ the team.”
In the past, Ujiri has called the Raptors’ overhaul a renovation or a reset, but he declared it a rebuild on Monday. He also said it’s not the players’ job to worry about it.
“I don’t want them to talk about rebuilding — that’s me,” Ujiri said. “They should be talking about winning and they should be talking about playing and competing.”
Barnes wasn’t concerned with striking a balance between development and winning, as he was committed to trusting his coach’s process.
“Don’t get frustrated throughout the season, throughout the ups and downs,” said Barnes, in a crisp white and red jersey after taking his team photo. “Of course we want to win and we know we can win but it takes time.
“So don’t get frustrated throughout that process and keep trying to focus on our main goal, try to improve and focus on that picture.”
Barrett and Quickley were traded from New York to Toronto on December 30. Because the Knicks were on the road when the deal fell through, both players had most of their clothes back in New York, doing their personal lives comfortably while they had to. trying to get the latest information about the Raptors’ systems on the court.
“Coming in halfway through, I was playing not really knowing any of the plays,” Barrett said. “I got here and I think I played, like, two days after I got traded, or something like that.
“Learning everything on the fly was fun, but now to be here and be locked in from the jump, it’s more comfortable for me, for everyone. Now, we can know what we’re doing, the direction we’re going from the very beginning.”
The Raptors will hold their training camp at the Université du Québec à Montréal. This is the first time their training camp has been in the city of Montréal. Toronto trained in Quebec City in 2019.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 30, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10786769/raptors-have-clean-slate-heading-into-new-season/
