Raptors approached Rajakovic with a rebuild during hiring process

Nearly four years on from their last playoff series win, it’s hard to deny that the Toronto Raptors’ rebuild is now in full swing.

After a 41-41 2022-23 campaign that saw the franchise fall out of the play-in tournament with a crushing loss to the Chicago Bulls on their home court, it seemed only inevitable that some sort of major moves would be in order.

One of the first signs of change came back in June when the Raptors hired a first-time head coach in Darko Rajakovic, who took over the job after Nick Nurse held the post for five seasons after he was let go in May.

“Sometimes change is hard. But we believe change is good,” Toronto president Masai Ujiri said back in June at Rajakovic’s introductory press conference. “It’s been an incredible process for us. I know you have all been patiently waiting, some of you impatiently waiting, but we’re really, really excited.”

Spending time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, and Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach before coming to Toronto, Rajakovic was widely lauded for his strong approach to player development.

Less than eight months later, the team that Rajakovic was hired to coach isn’t exactly the one that he’s currently in charge of. Just four players who dressed for the team’s final play-in game last season remain on Toronto’s roster today, following four separate trades from Toronto from December 30 through this past Thursday’s trade deadline.

The departures of OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks and Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers were two of the team’s biggest trades ever, seemingly putting a firm end to an entire era of the franchise.

But despite all the change around him, Rajakovic doesn’t seem to put much of an emphasis on where things may have been — only where they’re headed next.

“I’m really focusing on the task ahead of us,” Rajakovic said on Friday night in response to a question asked by Daily Hive. “I’m trying to live in the present moment, trying to create a vision for what our team needs, and on that vision, how to execute. I think we can have a great opportunity here next for the games to really see the growth and that needs to be the biggest focus for us, the growth of the roster, growth of the players, growth of our habits.”

With Toronto currently holding a record of 19-34 this season, Rajakovic has spoken about how the wins and losses matter less than the long-term potential of the group.

“We’re really trying to focus more on us and a lot less on scouting opponents or some details. We’re really trying to develop our roster,” Rajakovic added.

But while his coach might only be looking at what’s up next, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster admitted the rebuild process was one the franchise had been talking about while first considering Rajakovic for the job.

“Part of the interview process, you go through all those scenarios, right? We know, the team that we were going to put forward, but we also knew the potential changes that could happen. We’re very upfront and communicative [with Rajakovic]. He’s been part of a lot of different NBA franchises. So I don’t think this feels entirely new to him,” Webster said to Daily Hive shortly after Thursday’s 3 pm ET deadline passed.

Saturday night was another reminder of how far the franchise may still have until they’re considered among the class of the NBA. Seeking their first three-game win streak of the season, Toronto fell 119-95 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have now won 17 of their last 18 games, nearly as many as the Raptors have won all year.

Webster added that he’s in constant communication with Rajakovic to pick his brain about how to build out the team’s roster.

“A lot of it’s just day-to-day, or even hourly conversations about the direction of the team,”  And so [the rebuilding process] has been something we’ve been discussing internally with [Rajakovic] for a while now,” Webster added. “Especially after the two big two major moves [trading away Anunoby and Siakam], he kind of saw this was the direction that everything was going.”

The Raptors return to action on Monday night, when they host 2023 first overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm ET.

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