Darko Rajaković on Knicks lawsuit and Raptors style of play

At Raptors media day, new head coach Darko Rajaković addressed the lawsuit brought against his team by the New York Knicks and spoke about the style of play he wants to implement in Toronto.

Video Transcript

- Hey, Darko. Good morning.

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: Good morning.

- We'll get to more fun topics soon, I'm sure, but what was your reaction to the lawsuit when it came in? And how are you feeling about it as we go into the season?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: I was-- I was surprised. I was shocked. I did not know where it's coming from. Obviously, the lawsuit is ongoing. I cannot make way too many comments on it.

What I can say is, I know who I am. I know how my parents raised me. I know what I see every single day when I look in the mirror. I know that there is nothing that I should be worried about. And I cannot wait for this lawsuit to be over so everybody can find the truth.

- You know exactly what the team will look like on training camp now, which is good because tomorrow is the start. [LAUGHS] What are your impressions of how this roster shapes up, and particularly with all the playmaking forwards you seem to have?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: I'm really excited about the roster that we have heading into the season. I really look forward to create a new identity of this team. They really want to be the team that moves the ball, that plays together, that plays unselfishly. And we're going to try to kind of divide responsibilities on the team so all the players can benefit, and everybody can step up.

- Next, we'll go to Mike Grange here in front, on your right. Grange?

MICHAEL GRANGE: I was going to say, that's not me. Hi, Darko. I want to ask you a little bit about Dennis. A lot's been made about your relationship with him. How would you characterize that relationship?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: Since day one, when we started working together in Oklahoma City, it was a straightforward relationship. And I always had great communication with him. We worked really well together. He's a front and honest guy, fierce competitor. And I think he's going to be-- bring a great flavor to our team.

MICHAEL GRANGE: And how-- I mean, he had such a great summer with Germany. How do you bring that out in the NBA? I mean, I know it's been there in parts, but maybe not to that level. Is that just opportunity, in your mind?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: It's-- first of all, it's a different kind of game. It's different role. But I think there is a lot of-- for me to learn about Dennis' game, the way he plays with German national team. We've been in constant communication during World Cup. And definitely, we're going to put him in very similar situations with our team to be successful. We want him at his best. And when he's at his best, I think he's going to make everybody around him better.

- Hey-- sorry.

- Josh, and then Sam. Josh?

- Hey, Darko. How are you doing?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: Doing well.

- You've talked a lot about Scottie already and what you think about his game. How much do you anticipate using him at the point guard position this year? And with Fred gone, would you consider starting him at the position?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: The style of play that we're going to implement is going to be players 1 through 4 are going to be interchangeable. Multiple players will be able to bring the ball up the floor. Obviously, different players will have different roles, different responsibilities. Definitely, I can see Scottie playing on the ball much more.

We're going to be calling-- in halfcourt sets, we're going to be calling plays for him to handle it in pick and roll, to set screens in pick and roll. He's such a unique player that we can use him in many different ways. But he's going to be used quite a bit.

- Yes, Sam?

- Hey, Darko. Actually, in the past couple days, I watched all of Scottie's pick and roll possessions from the last season. It was tough for him to get an advantage going downhill. But one of the biggest advantages was running off ball actions, like rip, veer, screen the screener stuff to open up lobs and 3-point shots.

My question is, if he doesn't provide, being a big guy, the typical stuff that guards provide in the pick and roll with pull-up shooting, elite first steps, what is the biggest advantage about using a larger creator at the point of attack, as an initiator?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: I think there is a lot of advantages there. First of all, he is willing passer. So when you put him in pick and rolls, he can see the court really well, and will try to move the court around pick and roll quite a bit. So actually, there are open passing lanes. And I think he can be very good in pick and rolls when he-- when a small sets a pick and roll for him, as well as a big. Jakob or Precious or any of our bigger players on the team can set screens for him.

As far as his downhill attacks, there are a couple of things that he can definitely do better. We've been working on those during the summer. One of those is use of his left hand as well. And he's been doing a great job so far in the open gym. I'm really excited to see him on NBA court, in NBA games, and to continue progressing his game.

- We'll go to John next.

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] there you go.

- I was curious, I'm not sure if you heard what Masai was saying, but he was saying that there's going to be no selfishness on this team. Obviously, you play a big role in that, in sort of setting the tone culturally. What are you going to do at training camp to work on that issue that Masai has flagged a couple times for us?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: Selfishness-- how are you going to describe selfishness? You know, it's taking poor shots. It's over-dribbling the ball. We're going to try completely opposite of that. We're going to try to move the ball more. We're going to try to implement 0.5 offense so every time when the player catches the ball, that we're making quicker decisions, is that a shot or a drive or extra pass. And we're going to try to really execute in the halfcourt with a lot of pace.

Me, generally, like, I never liked heavy iso style of basketball. I don't think it can be winning on the highest level. So I think my biggest thing is going to be to have guys to buy in, that doing less is actually doing more. [SPEAKING SPANISH] as they say in Spain.

- So--