The Toronto Raptors were the only team in the NBA without a head coach after the Monty Williams move, though they seemed to narrow their final list of candidates down to three. Darko Rajakovic may not have been a household name to many, but he will be soon enough.
Rajakovic spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies and has been cutting his teeth in the NBA for almost a decade with the Thunder and Suns. Rather than hire Kenny Atkinson or Sergio Scariolo, Toronto decided that Rajakovic was the man for the job.
Rajakovic has been named as the next head coach of the Raptors, replacing Nick Nurse after what was a very chaotic end to his successful tenure in Canada. Rajakovic had a hand in making the Grizzlies one of the best teams in the league over the last few seasons.
ESPN Sources: The Toronto Raptors are finalizing a deal to hire Memphis Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic as the franchise’s next coach. pic.twitter.com/AEPu64p2F2
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2023
Toronto Raptors hire Darko Rajakovic as head coach
Rajakovic is coming off a very successful stint in Memphis under Taylor Jenkins, a Mike Budenhozler disciple. This means that his version of offensive basketball will likely be a derivative of one of the most consistently excellent schemes the game has to offer.
With Ja Morant becoming an offensive superstar and Jaren Jackson Jr. evolving into someone that has a legitimate case for best rim protector in basketball, Rajakovic’s resume is very long and extremely impressive. He should work wonders with Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes.
Rajakovic has a history of being an expert player developer, as he was a former G League head coach with the Tulsa 66ers. No matter what direction the Raptors choose to go in, having someone with a background in working with young players and offensive basketball is a plus.
New Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic has been in coaching for nearly 3 decades (he started coaching in Serbia at 16yo). Now 44, he's worked with Spurs, Thunder, Suns, Grizzlies and is widely regarded as one of the NBA's best in player development – a focus for the Raps in their search.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 10, 2023
Rajakovic becomes the second Serbian head coach in NBA history, following in the footsteps of Igor Kokoskov. If the Raptors end up looking like Memphis (on the court) and Rajakovic implements his system, making the postseason won’t be an unreasonable goal.