Raptors have 'clean slate' heading into new season as team leans into rebuild season

TORONTO — Head coach Darko Rajakovic is putting on his foreman's helmet as the Toronto Raptors lean into developing their young core this season.

Rajakovic thinks the Raptors have a "clean slate" in his second year in Toronto and team president Masai Ujiri called it a rebuild — a term he had previously avoided — on Monday. Rajakovic spoke in construction terms at Raptors media day at Scotiabank Arena, with the venue itself still in the midst of renovations.

"The first thing that you do when you're building a house, you need to find land where you want to build your house," said Rajakovic. "After that you need to dig a really big hole so you can make your basement and work on the foundation of the house.

"A lot of the time, from the street, you cannot see what's going on. You cannot see the results very quickly. But those are the most important steps we're going to be making right now."

Ujiri tore the Raptors roster down last season in a series of trades that essentially ended Toronto's 2019 NBA championship era. That included sending steady defenders O.G. Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont. It also meant trading all-star forward Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in another blockbuster deal.

That turnover and a series of injuries to key players like all-star forward Scottie Barnes and starting centre Jakob Poeltl led to a disastrous 25-57 record in Rajakovic's first season as an NBA head coach.

Toronto also restocked its depth, making trades during the NBA Draft to bring in four young prospects: Ja'Kobe Walter (19th overall), Jonathan Mogbo (31st), Jamal Shead (45th) and Ulrich Chomche (57th).

Rajakovic said that when the Raptors rebuild gets to the more apparent features of his metaphor like putting up walls, a roof, and windows, it will be thanks to work behind the scenes.

"A lot of film, a lot of education on the court and off the court that we've got to do this year," he said. "I'm going to have a much more holistic approach in developing our team and our roster.

"The most important thing is going to be not skipping any steps. If we need to stick a little bit longer for some teaching and some implementation of stuff, we're going to stick on that until we really get to the level that we believe it's time to make the next step for the team."

In the past, Ujiri had called the Raptors' overhaul a refresh or a reset, but he declared it a rebuild on Monday. He also said it's not the players' job to worry about it.

"I don't want them to talk about rebuilding — that's me," said Ujiri. "They should be talking about winning and they should be talking about playing and competing."

Barnes wasn't concerned with striking a balance between development and winning, since he was committed to trusting his coach's process.

"Don't get frustrated throughout the season, throughout the ups and downs," said Barnes, in a crisp white and red jersey after taking his team photo. "Of course we want to win and we know we can win but it just takes time.

"So don’t get frustrated throughout that process and just keep trying to focus on our main goal, try to get better and focus on that picture."

Barrett and Quickley were traded from New York to Toronto on Dec. 30. Because the Knicks were on the road when the deal was finalized both players had most of their clothes back in New York, making their personal lives a logistical tangle while they had to try and get up to speed on the Raptors' on-court systems.

"Coming in midway, I was playing without really knowing any of the plays," said Barrett. "I got here and I think I played, like, two days after I got traded, or something like that.

"Learning everything on the fly was fun, but now to be here and being locked in from the jump, it's more comfortable for me, for everybody. Now, we're able to know what we're doing, the direction we're going from the start."

The Raptors will hold their training camp at the Université du Québec à Montréal. It's the first time their training camp is in the city of Montréal. Toronto trained in Quebec City in 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press