Raptors head coach hopes to learn from painful rookie 2023-24 campaign

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At least Darko Rajakovic has one year under his coaching belt, a year he won’t soon forget and yet it was a rookie campaign when many painful lessons were learned in the wake of so many losses and just as many roster moves.

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At his end-of-season media availability, the affable head coach was asked about his first priority entering the off-season.

Without hesitation, he mentioned sleep.

Given the cards he was dealt and what seemed like a season-long theme of turmoil and change, the Serbian-born coach deserved all the sleep he could get.

The Raptors tipped off the season a year ago with a home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the very few highlights in a season marred by lowlights and circumstances no head coach, let alone a rookie, would welcome.

Rajakovic persevered amid all the turmoil and loss by trying to remain focused on development.

His post-game rant following a bitter loss to the host L.A. Lakers became one of the very few touchstone moments during his rookie campaign.

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Everyone knew Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby would be traded at some point, while everyone knew Dennis Schroder was too shot-happy and flawed to run an offence as a team’s incumbent point guard when his ideal role was best suited as a reserve.

His opening night starting group also consisted of Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, who would each succumb to season-ending injuries.

Once Barnes was injured during a home loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Raptors would end the season by winning three games.

The end-of-season stretch would be punctuated by a 15-game losing streak.

Two nights following Barnes’ season-ending injury, Jakob Poeltl is sidelined for the balance of the season.

Without his best overall player in Barnes and the team’s best post player in Poeltl, Rajakovic was left to coach a team that was as flawed as it was feeble.

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The rookie head coach was mocked for suggesting he would host a pizza night once the Raptors put together a three-game win streak.

Throw in his vintage rant following the loss to the Lakers and there weren’t many highlights once the win over the T’Wolves on opening night was in the books.

Three-fifths of his starting lineup against visiting Minnesota would be traded because everyone knew the team’s two best players after Barnes would be dealt, while just as many knew the starting point guard against the T’Wolves was better served in a backup role.

In Rajakovic’s first game as head coach, rookie Gradey Dick played all of two minutes coming off the bench.

In the same game, his primary reserves consisted of four players, who have all left town.

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A coach known for his development, Rajakovic must have felt he had both hands tied behind his back, thrust into this no-win environment to a season where very few wins would actually be achieved.

The year began with the Raptors’ projected win total set at 36.5.

The team would end the season with 25 wins to finish 12th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

Once the trade deadline had expired, the Raptors finished dead last in the NBA with a minus-12.3 point differential.

It’s easy to see why sleep became such a priority for Rajakovic once the season had mercifully ended.

With a new season about to tip off Wednesday with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting Scotiabank Arena, at least the uncertainty hovering over the franchise isn’t as pronounced as it was last season.

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Granted, Chris Boucher, who was injured in Friday night’s pre-season finale in Brooklyn, is entering the final year of his contract.

Granted, Poeltl’s age does not fit with the timeline the Raptors are hoping to build around Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, whose injured thumb limited him to one exhibition game, and RJ Barrett, who was injured in the preseason opener and remains a question mark for opening night.

Toronto is in a rebuild and the players Rajakovic and his staff will be asked to coach and develop are young, for the most part.

The Raptors’ over-under win total is as low as 29.5 to as high as 31.5, slightly better than the likes of Charlotte, Detroit, Portland, Washington and Brooklyn.

The Raptors’ early season schedule is a beast.

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He won’t be measured on the amount of wins recorded knowing the best way to build in the NBA is to lose and secure the best draft lottery odds possible.

Rajakovic will be measured on how he manages Barnes when the inevitable loss arrives.

He’ll be measured on how well Quickley evolves into a starting point guard and all the responsibilities it carries, how well Barrett can expand his game on both ends of the floor.

There’s also the matter of ensuring Dick takes that next step in his evolution.

The roster Rajakovic will be asked to coach will be short on veterans with a handful potentially being moved at some point this season.

He’ll have a roster dotted with youth that will require playing time and patience.

There will be a shortage of perimeter shooters and players capable of creating their own shots.

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When teams talk about the need to play fast and move the ball on offence, play hard on defence, they are basically saying their roster is not good.

Rajakovic can’t play Barnes 40-plus minutes every night and neither can he allow Quickley to turn into a score-first point guard, either.

How Rajakovic can turn the Barnes-Quickley tandem into a viable and productive one-two punch will be his primary objective.

Barrett is a complementary player who will get shots when Barnes and Quickley are creating or when Barrett is coming off screens and attacking the basket.

While there was far less uncertainty when Rajakovic was entering his first season as head coach, his to-do list as a new season tips off hasn’t changed that much.

The onus, after all, continues to be development and growth.

Perhaps when all is said and done, he won’t require as much sleep as he did last off-season.

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