The primary official day of Darko Rajaković’s tenure as coach of the Toronto Raptors received underway on Tuesday.
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The temper on the first official staff day for the Toronto Raptors on Monday was a bit of tense, a bit of terse, a bit of defiant. Media Day is at all times lengthy, however felt longer with the countless questions on Pascal Siakam’s contract talks, OG Anunoby’s future, the “selfishness” that permeated final 12 months’s staff, and the lawsuit the Raps are dealing with from the New York Knicks over stolen proprietary materials.
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On Tuesday on the Christine Sinclair Group Centre in Burnaby, the vibe test was handed. Not even the fireplace alarm forcing an evacuation minutes into the primary day of coaching camp may spoil the temper.
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“That is all we wished to do. Enjoying ball is all we wished to do,” Raptors ahead Otto Porter Jr. stated with a smile. “The vibe is … higher immediately.”
Coaching camp and preseason is at all times a few recent begin, however there’s a extra complete sense of renewal within the staff, which completed ninth within the East and misplaced the play-in recreation to the Chicago Bulls.
There’s a new head coach in Darko Rajaković, who will get his first seat within the NBA after almost a decade within the league as an assistant. There are new faces too, together with all the teaching employees. There’s Dennis Schröder, the veteran guard who added a World Cup title with Germany to an already intensive résumé. And there’s new previous faces, like Porter, who missed all of final season after foot surgical procedure.
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“It was an amazing day for us immediately,” Rajaković stated after his first on-court session. “Power was so excessive, consideration to element was on a excessive, excessive stage. Clearly, new terminology, new schemes. We talked to our guys and defined why they’re doing sure issues, however they did a very good job selecting up factors and happening the primary day.
“I don’t wish to say I’m stunned by the extent of consideration and care from the blokes … but it surely was actually, actually excessive.”
Tuesday was additionally the primary official day of Schröder’s reunion with Rajaković, who was an assistant in Oklahoma Metropolis when Schröder performed there for 5 seasons. The German level guard stated that the hiring of Rajaković was the principle cause he selected Toronto and signed a two-year, $26-million deal.
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“What I really like about coach is that he retains everyone within the locker room accountable,” stated the 29-year-old. “(In Oklahoma), we had Russell Westbrook, we had PG (Paul George) and he stored everyone accountable. It’s to not take them down, it’s to carry them up … from the primary participant to the fifteenth participant.
“That’s what I actually like about Darko as an individual. He’s a household particular person. We had numerous breaking bread collectively in Oklahoma. His household (is) near me as effectively. … It was a straightforward choice for me to come back right here as a result of I do know what he’s about.
“He loves to speak and he cares about you. He actually needs to know what your state of affairs is. If it’s household, it’s a basketball, off the courtroom … he needs to speak to you and he actually means it. That goes a great distance. I feel everyone respect that.”
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Schröder is coming off a summer time with the German nationwide staff, main his nation to glory on the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and being named the event MVP within the course of. It was a heavy workload, and he’s solely lately resuming basketball coaching, however is wanting ahead to the problem of serving to flip the franchise’s latest fortunes round.
“I don’t ask individuals for one thing I don’t do,” he stated. “Each single day, I am going out and provides all the pieces I’ve to get higher as a participant, as an individual. That’s what my management is about. I don’t actually speak that a lot. Generally when one thing must be stated, in fact, I say one thing, however I attempt to lead by instance. And I’ll attempt to do it right here as effectively.
“Darko was the primary the rationale why I got here, however I imply all the opposite guys, the fashion of play, defensively, I feel I slot in right here. Enjoying defence, after which play off of our defence. Play quick, kick the ball forward. It’s virtually just like the nationwide staff.
“Everyone’s skilled. Everyone cares about successful. Everyone places the ego to the facet, and we play staff basketball. That’s what we did this summer time with the nationwide staff, and I’ve tried to deliver this to this locker room. If everyone can get on the identical web page, I feel we will do one thing.”
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