New Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic reportedly has his “hand full” in trying to unite a locker room that was reportedly divided at the end of the 2022-2023 season.
The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of what could be a major shift for the franchise. Despite having high-level talents like Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby on the roster, and a championship-winning coach in Nick Nurse, the team disappointed in a major way this past season.
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The Raptors struggled to hover around .500 for most of the campaign and fell short of reaching the playoffs after losing their first game in the NBA Play-In tournament. Despite adding Jakob Poeltl at the trade deadline, this group just could not live up to the potential of the talent involved.
Their poor showing in ’22-’23 led to the firing of Nurse, endless rumors of their top stars being traded, and the frustrating departure of VanVleet on the first day of NBA free agency. For most, the assumption would be that the one-time All-Star left because of the massive offer he received from the Houston Rockets, and Nurse was just the latest victim of the results-based expectations of being a head coach in the league. Well, it seems there might be much more to it.
Toronto Raptors’ top stars were frustrated with the play of young teammates
There may have been more to those key departures and the trade rumors swirling around the Toronto Raptors. In a Tuesday report from Sportsnet writer NBA Michael Grange, it was revealed that the franchise’s new coaching staff have some serious work to do in patching up issues in the locker room.
Raptors stars VanVleet and Siakam allegedly became “deeply frustrated with the younger players on the roster” and the new Houston Rockets point guard reportedly let them know about it. However, instead of receiving criticism from the one-time NBA champ with an open mind, those younger talents pushed back against his critiques.
Nurse unfortunately was unable to bridge the divide and the team’s losing only amplified the problems. Showing in the team’s play. It led team president Masai Ujiri to reportedly chew out the team on multiple occasions during the season, including an instance where he addressed Scottie Barnes specifically.
It was why there were rumblings late last season that Nurse was under the impression his time with the franchise could soon be at an end.
It will be interesting to see how the Toronto Raptors address the roster for the rest of this summer and if they make more moves to change up the dynamic in the locker room.