As I made my way through the tunnel to go watch the players warming up, I found myself in lockstep with Darko Rajakovic. He’s not an imposing, large, former player who would be unmistakable; we were just two regular-sized humans who eventually recognized one another. We shook hands and said hi before he made his way onto the court and embraced Desmond Bane. Bane, who has developed into much more than was expected of him, and did heaps of work with Rajakovic while in Memphis. Bane, who publicly cheered Rajakovic on when he ascended to head coach of the Raptors. The two of them hugged, smiled, and laughed while catching up. Bane, just one of Rajakovic’s development success stories.
Shortly after that, Rajakovic sauntered over to the Raptors side of the court, clad in his sweatsuit, and began to work on Gradey Dick’s footwork with him. Pointing out what needs to be included in his repetitions, then sitting back to watch as Dick followed through. Shortly after that, I got a chance to ask Rajakovic what the development aspect of coaching means to him.
“For me, that’s the most rewarding. When you look at careers of players, their individual progress and how it affects the success of their teams, that’s the most rewarding part of our job.” Rajakovic told me. “Being on the court with players and helping them to master a skill and to learn how to play against a certain coverage, how to improve something on defense. Then to see how that translates in a game, it’s the most rewarding part of my job.”
Taylor Jenkins, who has coached against and with Rajakovic for years and reveres his competitive edge, was also effusive in his praise, saying: “Darko is one of the best basketball minds I know.” Expressing no surprise that Rajakovic has helped lead the Raptors to their best halfcourt offense in 4 years, and describing Rajakovic’s unique approach to combining team goals and personal goals into one, and communicating that to players. “He really gravitates the guys, gets them to understand what’s in the big picture from a team standpoint and where their role is in that. How he and the staff are going to pour their heart and soul into helping them be the best player as possible within that system. Fun personality, gets guys to play hard. That’s why they’re having a lot of success right now.”
Rajakovic has an insatiable hunger for basketball and all its trappings. He can take the scout/analyst point of view, diving into hours and hours of Bruce Brown’s cutting film, who he labeled as one of the best cutters in the league. He can co-author brainy and conceptual scholarly articles on the pick n’ roll and the hyper specificity of player placement and screen angles. He’s talked about the offensive schemes of today, yesterday, and the future on podcasts. Most of all though, he slips into his sweatsuit and steps in with the players. It’s the same with Dick as it was with Bane, or Jaren Jackson Jr., or Devin Booker. Active and involved guidance.
From a developmental standpoint, Jenkins kept hammering Rajakovic’s bonafides: “He’s worked with stars in this league. He’s worked with guys trying to fight for a 10-day contract, it didn’t matter what stage any player was at. ‘How am I gonna help you get better?’, be honest, be positive with you, push you. Because that’s how he’s been built since he was a teenager, an elementary kid that loved the game of basketball.”
This Raptors team has seen a lot of turnover lately. 5 players have left the roster, 5 have come in. Their lone big man has been injured for more than 2 weeks. Everything is unfamiliar, everything is more difficult, and Masai Ujiri preached patience for a reason. Even still, it seems plausible that over half of the Raptors current roster could be had in a trade before the deadline comes and goes. Everything is topsy-turvy, and that’s why Rajakovic stressed the importance of the upcoming 3-day break, and the opportunity for some practice.
“Good thing is we’re gonna have 3 days without games, an opportunity to really practice. Try to install offense and defense as much as possible, and try to get guys on the same page as much as possible, in a short amount of time. I believe in the talent of this group. I believe in our players. We just need to be more intentional behind everything.”
Darko Rajakovic
Truthfully, 3 days won’t cut it. 3 weeks might not cut it. Rome wasn’t built in a day. The possibility of these Raptors looking completely different by this part of the season, it was always in the cards. Rajakovic was brought in as a coach who the Raptors hoped could steer whatever roster they presented to him, whether it was a playoff-bound roster, or a lottery-bound one. With the roster now, the intent is quite clear.
A couple weeks ago, Darko introduced himself to the world with an impassioned, fiery monologue about his star, Scottie Barnes. The hope now, is that the world continues to be introduced to stars that he’s worked with, the indelible mark he’s left on them, and the passion and fire he did that with, too. It’s his favourite part of the job.
Have a blessed day.
