The Toronto Raptors are entering a youth movement led by head coach Darko Rajakovic.
There is a lot to be excited about with Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett being the core of the team. They also have Rajakovic, who is a player’s coach and connects with all his players well.
Being able to have a coach that is respected by the players is crucial for the Raptors’ success. A situation familiar with Rajakovic, who handled the early stages of the rebuild with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Following their last game of the 2023-24 season on April 14, Rajakovic said that he is giving his players three weeks off before getting back to work, via Aaron Rose of Sports Illustrated:
“Guys will take three weeks off over here and after that, everybody is going to start working. I always tell players take three, four days off, maybe you’re not doing anything but after that play tennis, go swimming, go for a run, do weights. You don’t necessarily have to do basketball, but you don’t want to shut down those high-level machines you don’t want to shut them down and keep them in a garage.”
Raptors’ All-Star Barnes has definitely been enjoying his off time so far. He was seen having fun singing at a karaoke bar in Cancun. A clip that went viral as he sung “This Love” by Maroon 5 and lead singer Adam Levine reposted this on Instagram.
Barnes is recovering from left hand surgery, so for him to enjoy himself and disconnect from basketball is healthy.
However, this offseason is going to be a crucial one as the 22-year-old is now the face of the franchise.
Darko Rajakovic proud of ‘togetherness’ in first season with Toronto
All things considered, Toronto endured a crazy season due to all the roster movement. But, the team still showed flashes in terms of growth with their young stars.
Specifically with Rajakovic, he had to coach this Raptors team at different iterations this year. Something that stood out to him is the ‘togetherness’ in his first season with the franchise.
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