Darko Rajakovic won over Raptors’ front office with his hole-free resume

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The process that led the Toronto Raptors front office to Darko Rajakovic was about as wide open as any coach search that group had ever conducted.

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Going in, there were no preconceived frontrunners or short list of candidates. The goal was to cast a wide net and simply work the process and let it determine who their next head coach would be.

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The previous coach search that landed on Nick Nurse, who ultimately helped deliver the organization its first championship, was not comparable to this one.

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That it was the little known Serbian coach with an extensive resume of NBA assistant coaching jobs who bested all the others was a testament to Rajakovic’s well-rounded skillset.

Team president and vice chairman Masai Ujiri talked about the need for change and how change, even when necessary can be difficult, but in Ujiri’s eyes, in Rajakovic checked every box on the checklist of things he and his front office were looking for in a new head coach.

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Ujiri was not very specific but conversations before and after the press conference held on the fourth anniversary of the Raptors championship revealed Rajakovic to be a candidate who kind of snuck up on even those conducting the interview process.

He conducted four interviews with Raptors personnel through the process. The first via zoom call and then three more, including one with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum.

If he wasn’t among the early favourites when the process began, he quickly put himself there with that first interview via zoom.

That occurred the morning after the Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA’s Western Conference quarterfinals in six games.

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The favoured Grizzlies went out with a whimper losing Game 6 by a score of 125-85. It was a humbling defeat and a crushing blow for a team of much promise.

Rajakovic was given the opportunity to postpone the interview but declined.

So, at 7 a.m. Los Angeles time he logged onto his computer in his hotel room looking to make an impression.

Back in Toronto but at 10 a.m., Ujiri and his team did the same and Rajakovic went from a maybe to a solid candidate.

In Toronto, given Rajakovic’s situation, expectations weren’t really high. On limited sleep and having just sustained a crushing loss, the feeling was Rajakovic might not be at his best.

Rajakovic wasn’t just present and alert, he was energetic and positive and quickly won over everyone on the call from Toronto’s end.

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He didn’t earn the job that morning, but he set the tone for the remainder of the process and didn’t take a step back from that point on.

To hear Raptors GM Bobby Webster tell it, Rajakovic didn’t so much as wow the Raptors front office people as he just lapped the field with his ability to provide all the things the team was looking for in a new coach.

“Honestly, I think it was the total package,” Webster said. It really wasn’t a deficiency or a weakness, I guess, that’s really not fair, but I think just as a total package. He kind of exceeded across the board and whether it’s coaching, or basketball intellect or the ability to work well with others, or connect with players, I think all the areas that we were looking for he was really good at.”

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Certainly, one of Rajakovic’s biggest strengths is developing a bond and connection with the players he coaches. When it was pointed out that might be an easier road to travel as an assistant, Webster acknowledged the distinction, but believes that can still be the case for Rajakovic even with him calling the shots now. There are no shortage of players through his Oklahoma City days and his three years in Memphis who rave about his work ethic and willingness to do whatever it takes to help a player succeed.

“I think he does have some head coaching experience,” Webster pointed out, and I think that that dynamic never changes. He probably had a star player in Spain (his first head coaching job outside his native Serbia) or he’s had high profile players, relatively speaking. But no, that was a huge part of trying to get perspective from former players that he’s coached. It is different as an assistant but to see him a bit in that next head coaching light, by and large, everyone felt like there was a natural progression for him.”

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Rajakovic himself was quick to point out that until he came to North America, the only job he’d ever had on a basketball team was head coach.

Even in North America he had two years overseeing the OKC Thunder’s G-League team in Tulsa as its head coach.

It’s just the past eight years, four as an assistant in OKC, one year on Monty Williams’ bench in Phoenix and the past three as the lead assistant to Taylor Jenkins in Memphis, that he hasn’t had the final say.

The Raptors, though, have a specific need in their new head coach even if they don’t want to say it out loud for public consumption.

The new coach has to be a guy who can work hand in hand with a bunch of highly paid athletes who have been accustomed to having a say in the way the team they play for operate and perhaps haven’t enough of that of late.

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Rajakovic will not be a guy who lets his ego get in the way of what is best for the team because he doesn’t really have an ego.

His stated goal, as he arises each morning, is to find a way to make someone, anyone, in the organization better than they were the day before.

That is what drives this man and that all-for-the-greater-good attitude is something that may have slipped in the four years since they broke through and won that first championship.

Again, without over explaining things, Ujiri’s message on Tuesday was now is the time for change.

Rajakovic is that change.

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