As we kick off the player previews for the upcoming season, my colleague, Julian Apolinario wrote a great piece about Scottie Barnes and how this is his first “real” season. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, THIS is the first real season for Darko Rajakovic.

He was hired on the 4th anniversary of the Toronto Raptors winning the championship, yet the team couldn’t be further from being that good. Fred VanVleet was one month away from surprisingly signing with Houston. The rumours would grow louder until OG Anunoby was eventually traded away before the new year. Pascal Siakam was quietly being pushed out to make way for Scottie, and eventually traded at the deadline. Darko, in his first year as a Head Coach, was tasked with coaching so many dramatically different teams.

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Last season? Well, let’s dive straight into this season to help illustrate where Darko’s mindset is heading into his third season.

“If you look (at) my two years here with the team, the first year was all over the place, looking for direction, then deciding and starting to go into a rebuild.” Rajakovic added, “What I’m really looking for is consistency and continuity.”

One of the first questions Darko fielded during Raptors Media Day on Monday was around growth and development. Last season, that would have been par for the course. Once Masai Ujiri uttered the word “rebuild” at the same event one year ago, the franchise’s focus was clearly shifting towards growing the young talent around Scottie Barnes and developing an identity that didn’t exist in Darko’s first year as Head Coach.

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But Masai is no longer around. The word “rebuild” was not mentioned once throughout Media Day. Darko took the question about growth and development and tweaked it to fit a new era of Toronto Raptors basketball. “My focus is on winning and developing at the same time. I’m really blessed and grateful to have a group of guys like we have in this organization. They’re just hungry guys that are really excited to be around each other, very hungry to go out there and compete.”

It’s hard to argue with Darko’s thinking. The proof was in the pudding after the All-Star break last season. Toronto had the 2nd-best defense, according to Cleaning The Glass, just a hair behind Golden State for top spot. Say what you will about the level of competition — 22 of 27 opponents finished below .500 — but the you play the schedule that you’re given. Despite a clear mandate to lose as many games as possible and increase odds to “capture the Flagg,” Rajakovic maximized the effort of the players he did have at his disposal. Not only did he work in important reps for the young players, he built a solid foundation for the team moving forward.

That foundation carried over to Summer League where the Raptors displayed a maniacal defense that guarded 94 feet all game long, wreaking all kinds of havoc. Toronto would finish the round robin as the top seed, thanks in large part to the defensive identity the team had established. While the Raptors fell short in the semi-finals, the chemistry between the players was an encouraging sign that brighter days are ahead for Toronto.

Laying the groundwork for a solid defense, and possibly the next iteration of the Bench Mob, is great but the success of this season will hinge on the cohesiveness of the starters. Darko has always been very vocal about the importance of Barnes and his abilities on the defensive end. Scottie has the tools to make an All-Defense team, but it’s up to Rajakovic to make sure he’s in a position to shine.

Equally, if not more important for Darko is how he integrates Brandon Ingram. The former All-Star is the biggest addition to the roster, so his contributions will play an integral role in how successful the Raptors season goes.

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“I want Brandon to be himself, to feel comfortable in his own skill. He’s 27 years old, and now entering his prime. I expect him to take his game to another level. Obviously, he’s a lead scorer, (we’re) going to put him in situations where he can not just score, but play-make. He’s going to be attracting a lot of attention, and I believe that he’s going to be really good at finding his teammates and making the right play.”

With two All-Star forwards, a healthy Immanuel Quickley ready to prove he’s an All-Star calibre Point Guard, a top-10 Center in Jakob Poeltl, an opportunistic RJ Barrett eager to take advantage of all the open looks he’s about to receive, and a hungry group of young, rising stars on the bench, Darko Rajakovic has the entire pantry at his disposal to cook up a special season.

“I’m really excited about the group that we have this season. It’s going to be really exciting to see how those guys develop and grow together, where we can go as a team, and all the signs that I’m getting from the players and being around it during the summer, they’re very positive.”

It doesn’t seem that long ago when Nick Nurse was squatting in front of the Raptors bench, but as Rajakovic enters his third season, he already has a longer tenure than 13 other coaches in the league. That speaks to the volatility of the current state of the coaching position and, therefore, the pressure that’s on Darko’s shoulders to succeed. The proverbial training wheels are now removed for Rajakovic and the time to deliver is now!