Expect Darko Rajakovic to shake up Raptors’ stale offence, development system

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The Toronto Raptors have a new head coach with former Memphis Grizzlies lead assistant Darko Rajakovic getting the job this weekend. But that’s just Step 1 of what will be a busy off-season. Now, speculation can begin over what Rajakovic’s hiring means for the future of the club.

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Going with Rajakovic doesn’t guarantee the franchise will be going with a full rebuild nor does it mean everyone is sticking around and that they’ll aim to contend, even though this group has been in the NBA’s lottery two of the last three seasons. Rajakovic has experience with teams eying deep playoff runs (most of his time as an assistant coach in Oklahoma City and the last three years in Memphis), as well as with the retooling or developmental sides (like his work in the G-League, the end of his tenure with the Thunder and his year in Phoenix.)

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So he was hired because he isn’t seen as a one-trick pony (though he’s long been lauded as elite at making young players better with the likes of Devin Booker, Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones having sung his praises.) That also applies to his specialties. While he’s known as a savvy offensive mind and largely focused on that area while in Memphis, Nick Nurse came in with a similar reputation in Toronto and showed he was no slouch as a defensive teacher either (Nurse leaves perhaps being known best for the varied defences he had his team throw at Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors). Rajakovic is a coaching lifer and you can bet he has plenty of ideas on the defensive end, too.

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But it is on offence where he’s gained willing followers. Rajakovic has helped players like Booker and Bane become more than just scoring guards, putting an emphasis on playmaking that has paid off handsomely. Though both can fill it up with the best of them, Booker’s now a multi-talented superstar who first put it all together in his one season working with Rajakovic in Phoenix and Bane’s an elite starting shooting guard who has gone from averaging 1.7 assists per game as a rookie with the Grizzlies, to 2.7 and then 4.4 last season. Even when Memphis star Ja Morant has been out of the lineup the last two years, the team has adapted well and been dangerous offensively, in part because of the improvement of Bane and Jones, perhaps the league’s best backup point guard.

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Before officially becoming an NBA assistant coach, Rajakovic also spent years learning from Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs, merely one of the league’s most successful franchises over the last 25 years or so. The Spurs love offences that feature players making quick decisions and not just pounding the ball with players looking to do everything themselves. Rajakovic is of that mindset, too. He wants players to decide whether they will pass, shoot or drive to the hoop quickly. His offences are light on isolation play (1-on-1 creation, with the Grizzlies ranking near the bottom of the NBA in isolation frequency every year he was there, along with his season in Phoenix) and heavy on searching for open shots.

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How will that come into play in Toronto, where the team’s top player Pascal Siakam loves to hold onto the ball and survey the situation? (To be fair, in Rajakovic’s final year with the Thunder that team trailed only one other in isolation play frequency). Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. also get a lot of their production off isolation. It’s possible all, some or none of that trio will be back, of course, with the latter two heading to unrestricted free agency and Siakam a year away.

Rajakovic’s Memphis teams consistently paced the league in points in the paint and ranked near the top annually in fast-break points, didn’t turn the ball over often (third, fifth and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio the last three seasons) and took only an average number of three-point attempts compared to other teams (though this year’s Grizzlies attempted far more than Rajakovic’s prior teams).

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The Raptors struggled to score in the halfcourt. We can bet Rajakovic has a plan he laid out for how to get more out of everyone, particularly prized forward Scottie Barnes, a natural passer who ironically needs to become more dangerous as a scorer to fulfil his massive potential. Rajakovic should also mesh with his presumptive starting centre Jakob Poeltl (nobody believes the team gave up next year’s first-round pick to the Spurs for Poeltl only to let him go a few months later). Poeltl is a gifted passer. O.G. Anunoby also seems like a player who could thrive under Rajakovic since he’s a great shooter and cutter, though he can still improve as a passer and dribbler.

It’s all a big puzzle for Rajakovic to solve. He’ll certainly have ideas about how to do just that.

@WolstatSun

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