Achi news desk-
TORONTO – Most fans would describe the 2023-24 season of the Toronto Raptors as turbulent, even chaotic, with a series of trades that significantly remade the roster and then a host of injuries and other contributing issues’ directly to a 15 game losing skid.
But head coach Darko Rajakovic’s lasting memory of this lost season will be how through it all, the team stuck together.
“We had very difficult cards this season and it was easy to point fingers and say it was his fault, my fault, his fault, her fault and I think that we as an organisation, all parts of the organization have stay together and understand what we are going through,” Rajakovic said on Tuesday at his end-of-season news conference. “We understand that the only way we’re going to build is by doing that, by being on the same page and being together.”
Rajakovic was introduced as Toronto’s new head coach on June 13, with team president Masai Ujiri stressing in an outdoor news conference that his mandate was to change the culture of the Raptors.
More than the culture changed over the season. Toronto traded OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett from Mississauga, Ont., on Dec. 30, then swung to send superstar Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 17, before that brought Kelly Olynyk from Kamloops, BC, and Ochai Agbaji to the Raptors in a deal with the Utah Jazz on February 8.
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The injury bug hit hard in March with all-star forward Scottie Barnes (broken hand) and starting center Jakob Poeltl (torn ligament) missing the rest of the season. Other injuries surfaced in the Raptors depth and Barrett and Quickley missed time to mourn the death of loved ones. Backup center Jontary Porter was also placed on the inactive list as the NBA launched an investigation into irregular betting patterns on his play.
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All those absences contributed to a 15-game losing streak, the second-worst in team history, and Toronto (25-57) lost 19 of its final 21 games of the season.
A rough way for Rajakovic’s first season as an NBA head coach to end.
“If you’d asked me about this 12 months ago, when I was interviewing for the job, I probably couldn’t have predicted everything that came our way. If you had asked (NBA coaching great) Phil Jackson, he would have told you the same thing,” Rajakovic said with a smile. “It was a season with a lot of challenges, a lot of changes, a lot of things happening on the court, many trades, and changes and also things off the court that we could not control.
“But at the same time, it was an incredible opportunity to learn, to see how people react in those situations, to see how everyone is resilient in that process, and how everyone came together.”
Although Rajakovic credited the entire organization for sticking together through adversity, his players said it was his positivity that held the team together.
Barnes said Rajakovic was the first person to call him after he had surgery on March 4 to repair a broken hand.
“He’s there for me. He’s going to help me no matter what,” Barnes said. “He’s always talking to me about how I can learn, how I can improve. He loves me and he cares for us.”
Barrett said Rajakovic began building a relationship with him as soon as he joined the Raptors.
“I’ve become so close to Darko. He’s a coach you can talk to, honestly, about anything,” said Barrett, whose younger brother Nathan died on March 12. “Sometimes, a lot of our conversations have nothing to do with with basketball.
“He checks on me a lot, for sure. I appreciate him in more than just basketball.”
Likewise, Quickley said the biggest thing he learned from Rajakovic is the “person part,” especially after the March 20 death of his uncle Shawn Hamilton.
“I think we probably talked more about things off the court than we do about basketball things, which is pretty cool to have as a coach,” Quickley said. “But when we’re talking about basketball, his attention to detail is second to none.
“His will to work and find ways to improve and things like that and involve the whole team is second to none as well.
The Raptors had just seven games where their core of four players – Barnes, Poeltl, Barrett and Quickley – had to play together. When they were all on the court together, they dominated Rajakovic’s offensive sets.
“My eye test tells me there is a lot of potential there and a lot of opportunities for growth,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to look at a small sample and say that’s it and then tend to take it for granted.
“I think there are definitely things we can do better, offensively and defensively, with that group there.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 16, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
