The Toronto Raptors are coming off of one of their worst seasons in franchise history. And yet, positivity remains endlessly high within the organization, especially when it comes to head coach Darko Rajakovic. He has been a great leader, even as injuries to players like Jakob Poeltl and the death of RJ Barrett’s younger brother took a toll on the 25-57 season.
Rajakovic gave Barrett the ability to stay away from the team for as long as he needed following his brother’s tragic passing. And while Barrett ultimately returned to play a handful of games for the Raptors at the end of the year, Rajakovic easily would have allowed him to miss the rest of the season if that’s what he needed. That type of understanding can build a bond between a player and coach.
And that is exactly what has happened with Barrett and Rajakovic, as the young star spoke about his initial thoughts on the Raptors head coach after being traded to Toronto at the trade deadline, via Sportsnet:
“I’ve gotten so close to Darko [Rajakovic] since I’ve gotten here. He’s a coach you can just talk to honestly about anything and a lot of our conversations sometimes have nothing to do with basketball and he checks on me a lot. I appreciate him in more than just a basketball sense.”
Poeltl, on the other hand, has gotten to spend more time with Rajakovic and missed time due to hand and ankle injuries. But even still, he has built a close bond thanks to the way the Raptors head coach makes himself available to players.
“One of Darko’s biggest strengths is his positivity and that stretches off the court as well. He’s the type of person that will always make himself available to talk to you or for you to go talk to him. It might be something basketball related or some personal struggles that you have so I think in that aspect him being so open and available is something I’ve seen from Pop [Greg Popovich] in the past.”
Players having that type of respect for a head coach is exactly what the top decision makers want to see as they evaluate the future of a team. Masai Ujiri and company, after a 25-win season, could have easily decided on a different direction at head coach, but Rajakovic has proven himself to be a wonderful leader, and his players are ready to go to bat for him.
Darko Rajakovic has high praise for Gary Trent Jr.
Gary Trent Jr. is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
It was a down year for the 25-year-old and he hasn’t quite taken the leap the Raptors were hoping he would take when they traded for him back in 2021, but he’s still a capable sharpshooter.
Trent Jr. has proven to be one of the league’s best three-point shooters. While his future with the Raptors is up in the air, Darko Rajakovic took the time to praise Trent Jr. during his end-of-season press conference.
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