Darko Rajakovic's hands won't be as tied, but his task in Year 2 remains tough

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At least Darko Rajakovic has one season under his head coaching belt, a year he won’t soon forget.

And yet it was a rookie campaign when many painful lessons were learned in the wake of so many losses and roster moves.

At his end-of-season media availability, the affable Rajakovic was asked about his first priority entering the off-season. Without hesitation, he mentioned sleep. Given the cards he was dealt and what seemed like a season-long theme of turmoil and change, the Serbian-born coach deserved all the shut-eye he could get.

The Raptors tipped off the season a year ago with a home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the season’s few highlights.

But even then, there was plenty of uncertainty beyond falling behind a rookie head coach.

Everyone knew starters Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby would be traded at some point, while Dennis Schroder was too shot-happy and flawed to run an offence as a starting point guard when his ideal role was best suited as a reserve. All wound up being traded.

The only two starters to survive — Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl — both succumbed to season-ending injuries three nights apart. Once Barnes was injured during a home loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Raptors managed just three wins the rest of the schedule, a stretch punctuated by a 15-game losing streak.

Without his best overall player in Barnes and the team’s best post player in Poeltl, Rajakovic was left to coach a team that was as flawed as it was feeble.

A coach known for his development, Rajakovic must have felt he had both hands tied behind his back, thrust into this no-win environment to a season where few wins would actually be achieved.

The year began with the Raptors’ projected win total set at 36.5. They ended the season with 25 to finish 12th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

Once the trade deadline had expired, the Raptors finished dead last in the NBA with a minus-12.3 point differential.

It’s easy to see why sleep became such a priority for Rajakovic once the season had mercifully ended.

With a new season about to tip off Wednesday with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting Scotiabank Arena, at least the uncertainty hovering over the franchise isn’t as pronounced as it was last season.

Granted, Chris Boucher, who was injured in Friday night’s pre-season finale at Brooklyn, is entering the final year of his contract.

And Poeltl’s age does not fit with the timeline the Raptors are hoping to build around Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, whose injured thumb limited him to one exhibition game, and RJ Barrett, who was hurt in the pre-season opener and remains a question mark for opening night on Wednesday.

Toronto is in a rebuild and the players Rajakovic and his staff will be asked to coach and develop are young, for the most part.

This season’s over-under win total is as low as 29.5 to as high as 31.5, slightly better than the likes of Charlotte, Detroit, Portland, Washington and Brooklyn.

Rajakovic won’t be measured on the number of wins recorded, knowing the best way to build in the NBA is to lose and secure the best draft lottery odds as possible.

He will be measured on how he manages Barnes when the inevitable losing arrives.

He’ll be measured on how well Quickley evolves into a starting point guard and all of the responsibilities it carries, and how well Barrett can expand his game at both ends of the floor.

There’s also the matter of ensuring that second-year forward Gradey Dick takes that next step in his evolution.

The roster Rajakovic will be asked to coach will be short on veterans with a handful potentially being moved at some point this season.

It will be dotted with youth that will require playing time and patience and there will be a shortage of perimeter shooters and players capable of creating their own shot.

When teams talk about the need to play fast and move the ball on offence, play hard on defence, they are basically saying their roster is not good.

Rajakovic can’t play Barnes 40-plus minutes every night and neither can he allow Quickley to turn into a score-first point guard, either.

How Rajakovic is able to turn the Barnes-Quickley tandem into a viable and productive 1-2 punch will be his primary objective.

Barrett is a complementary player who will get shots when Barnes and Quickley are creating or when he is coming off screens and attacking the basket.

While there’s far less uncertainty when Rajakovic was entering his first season as head coach, his to-do list as a new season tips off hasn’t changed that much.

The onus, afterall, continues to be development and growth.

Perhaps when all is said and done, he won’t require as much sleep as he did last off-season.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com