'I'm really proud of him': Darko Rajakovic on Pascal Siakam

Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic and Pascal Siakam discuss the changes to Toronto's offence and how the 29-year-old is adjusting in training camp.

Video Transcript

- How does Pascal fit in? Because last year, he was such a-- he was more ball dominant player. And that's not what you want this year. How has he fit in offensively? And what does he look like in the context of your offense so far this week?

DARKO RAJAKOVIC: He's doing a great job. It's actually allowing him to be more efficient. He's doing a great job of cutting, and playing without the ball, and the spacing. And you cannot hide the talent on the floor, you know? And he's extremely talented and an extremely high quality player. So the ball is always going to find the best players on the court. And the way he does those three days in the training camp playing, I'm really proud of him.

- Is he working more off the ball rather than initiating offense?

PASCAL SIAKAM: He's just, like, the notion of adapting, as a team, we all got to adapt, right? Like, we all got to figure out-- it's a new culture, right? He's going to come in with his new, his stuff and his philosophy. But I think, for me, there's nothing more that I have to adjust than the rest of my teammates at the end of the day. But I also believe that I've played in every [INAUDIBLE] position in the NBA.

Like, since the first day I got here, I was running down the floor. Kyle was throwing the ball. And I'm catching it and dunking it, from getting to a corner and starting developing ball handling, shooting. So I've seen everything. At the end of the day, I think what makes me special is that I'm a hooper, like, at the end of the day.

Like, when people workout in the summer and, like, they do one-on-one workouts, like, I want to play basketball, just because I want to be able to understand the game, play off of guys, and not just doing drills and be a robot. That, I think it's my strength as a player. So yeah, I'm definitely not worried about that. I know that my abilities on the basketball court will always prevail into anything, any situation that I'm put in.

- So with that attitude of, OK, I got this, what have you seen as some of the biggest, I guess, differences from all that you've been through in the past since you've been here?

PASCAL SIAKAM: I mean, I think it's probably a little bit more, for me, again, somebody who is just bringing the ball up. You got the [INAUDIBLE] having the ball in his hands. We got to play off of him, which I'm kind of used to. I've done it with Jakob before. But I think, to be honest, nothing that is, like, crazy in my head or anything like that. So I just think that it's basketball. And we're going to have to play basketball at the end of the day.

- Darko said that you're playing in scrimmages. You're off the ball more. You're flashing. You're cutting, which is stuff that you're really familiar with, and that it's working out really well in terms of how the fit is and how you're performing. How do you feel about how this offense could showcase you in a different way?

PASCAL SIAKAM: I don't know. I think we'll find out, once we start playing opponents get into games and stuff. So I think it's just a matter of, again, for me, it's just continuing to play off instincts, which is how I play anyway. And just, again, I think the more we do it, the more we grow. And the more we start playing other people, the more we see it. I can't really tell now.

- In terms of how you and Scottie fit, how have you found-- because you guys both like to do some of the same things. How have you found how the offense is allowing you two to work together?

PASCAL SIAKAM: I mean, I think, especially right now, it's like, we're just playing every lineup out there, you know? I don't think it's, like, specific lineups. So like I said, it's hard for me to say. I think we're both kind of willing passers. We both can attack. We both can do a lot of things on the floor. So I think that that always helps. Like, I don't think it's a bad thing.