The Toronto Raptors seemingly have their 2025-26 roster set in stone now that the long-awaited Kawhi Leonard trade has been officially processed, but it seems like Darko Rajakovic is trying to land one more depth player from his Memphis Grizzlies days in John Konchar.
According to Marc Stein, the Raptors are showing interest in Konchar, competing with the Heat and Magic to secure his services. Konchar may end up getting into the Raptors' preseason mix due to his past connection with Rajakovic, as the two players overlapped during their time with the Grizzlies.
Konchar, who will turn 31 in March, may be on his way out of the NBA if he doesn't land with a team before the start of the season. Rajakovic may be wielding whatever influence he has over the roster at this moment in time, as Konchar is the type of player who came from unheralded beginnings and gradually worked his way into being an effective player under Darko.
Darko Rajakovic, Toronto Raptors interested in signing guard John Konchar
UPDATE: Konchar has signed one-year contract with the New York Knicks
Konchar spent parts of the last seven seasons in Memphis, averaging 4.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game before getting flipped to the Utah Jazz in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade. Between holding his own as a wing defender and making 36% of his 3-pointers with the Grizzlies, Konchar has some utility.
Signing Konchar will need to be preceded by another move to free up space, as the Raptors don't have enough room below the first apron hard cap to sign someone to a league minimum contract. After being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and immediately waived, Konchar can lean on a guaranteed salary of more than $6 million and bide his time.
If Rajakovic can influence Bobby Webster, don't be surprised if Memphis' old No. 46 ends up plying his trade north of the border.
Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic helped develop John Konchar
If the Raptors sign Konchar, it stands to reason that he would be fighting with names like Alijah Martin, Jamison Battle, and veteran Kyle Anderson for one of the final roster spots. Konchar would go into that race at a disadvantage due to everyone else having either superior athleticism or experience in Toronto, but Konchar may get hot as a shooter and make a solid impression.
Part of the reason that Rajakovic got the Toronto job in the first place was his skill at player development. Taking someone like Konchar, who almost no one believed was going to be a solid NBA rotation player for most of a decade, and molding him into a passable 3-and-D piece Memphis kept retaining year after year speaks to his ability to recognize fringe talent.
Konchar is likely not going to win or lose any more games for Toronto than any other name in his talent tier would, but there's no such thing as having too much veteran depth who can defend on a team chasing a title. Konchar could be worth kicking around, especially to keep Rajakovic's success story away from other East elites like Miami.
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