Toronto Raptors Media Availability | January 14, 2024

Toronto Raptors Media Availability | January 14, 2024

How did it to spend like the second day yeah I’m still getting adjusted uh I’ve been with the Raptors for about two weeks but I’ve really only been in Toronto for about two days so uh still learning everything now you guys are going back on the road in a few weeks

But it will be nice to have I think five the next six games are at home will’ll be nice to have some time to get settled yeah definitely uh build a routine uh big on routine so build a routine uh get comfortable for me famil with uh really

Everything where I live um everything so it’ll be good to you know be home a little bit what did you learn about this team over uh the resilience of this team is is is is really good um the way we battled you know we had some tough games

Uh but just the way everybody stuck with it um and I think we got a lot closer as well so something about defense and how the team needs to develop how do you think you can help the team uh yeah I feel I’ve done uh okay I feel

Like I can be better defensively um and just working on that every single day I think um the staff has done a great job develop helping me develop offensively but also defensively we take time out uh to develop on the defensive end as well so just trying to continue to get better

On that side of the ball as well Darko was saying that it’s hard for young players to be leaders in this league that it comes with time and experience how have you grown as a leader during your time in the NBA um just understanding that everybody leads different some people lead with

You know their voice and you know yelling and barking orders but other people lead by example uh showing up early staying late uh taking care of their bodies and just setting an example of things that you need to do to be uh a good Pro in this league and I think

That’s what I try to do who were some of the bets that you’ve been around over the years that you’ve kind of taken stuff from in regards to leadership I’ve had a lot of great bets um I’ve had Derrick Rose when I when I first came into the league

Um Julius Randle when I was with the Knicks I’ve had a lot of great teammates Alex Burks when I was with the Knicks uh I’ve had a lot of great teammates be able to just and really just being able to pick pick people’s brain around the league you know other great guards in

The league you try to ask them questions it’s just really about um trying to get better each and every day that’s really all you can really do dark always talking about how they want to get you guys like developing and not just in the summer they want to put together a plan

To talk to you guys about those things now what are those things they’ve they’ve said to you about are is your game would think can improve um obviously no one’s a perfect player so you want to get better at everything but I think for me uh just continue to develop uh my finishing

Around the basket uh understanding the game uh to a level which you know I’m making reads and not only creating for myself but creating for my teammates and uh continuing to get better on the defensive end you learn about this team and the new guys on this trap um

I think I said it before but you know these guys just coming and compete every single day um bringing a lot of good energy uh Focus to the team uh that’s helping us on defensive end and offensive end but help us uh come together as a group collectively how

Have you seen your role defensively change since the OG trade I guess uh you know it changed a lot you know uh it’s going there every night being guarding the best players on the other team uh just being able to focus on that uh just being ready to take that challenge each

And every single day uh you know when I came into the league I always said I was a great defender and you know every night now I’m growing those the best players on other other team uh so just being able to take in that challenge and bring that mindset into every game you

Know it’s it’s a different mindset that I have to approach into the game do you enjoy that like you know you’re going up against the League’s best every single night and I sure it’s exhausting U for sure it’s exhausting oh I me for sure I

Enjoy it uh I enjoy I like taking on a challenge you know you got to be locked in from the start uh but it’s still a team game uh you know my teammate is going to help me as well but you know just being able to take that challenge

Each champ day and just trying to bring it on both ends I think it’s a it’s a mental challenge that you know you got to bring into the game each every single game your home stet coming uh starting tomorrow study uh what’s the focus going

Into these three four games uh we try to just take it one game at a time uh that’s just our main focus trying to win games grind them grind the games out just trying to win how much attention do you pay to um allar voting all the Stu

That’s coming out and your name being in there in the mix um uh I don’t really see it that much um but I’m just trying to take it game by game trying to win basketball games and that’s the main focus I know obviously wins are are important at this time of

The year uh but you guys are coming coming off of a trip where you showed a lot of good signs through five of the games anyway um for a team that’s also developing and and working in some new players is it hard to kind of separate the process from the results a little

Bit uh it is hard because all of us we so competitive and we we we want to win you know and we’re preparing for every single game uh to give us best chance to to to win but at the same time we got to know what are the priorities and uh that

Understanding the big picture of this team and transition that we’re going through and how we need to continue to to build and uh you know we had really good uh coaches meeting this morning and uh I was telling coaches I don’t want to wait for the end of the season to start

Putting Player Development plans and like how we’re going to develop those guys I I I want to be able now to figure out as much as possible what we know about quickly what we know about RJ what we know about jante and you know start implementing them in a system but also

At the same time developing their game offensively and defensively so you having those conversations with the players as well during the season just in terms of like next steps or things absolutely absolutely we we are constantly talking constantly coaching and teaching and every game is giving us

Some bringing some questions and uh you know and it’s it’s a constant search for uh for answers you know we saw uh some teams uh you know trapping blitzing against uh against quickly and he’s not really used to that so how he’s going to attack what he’s going to see there how

We as a team need to play because those are different schemes now offensively so it it’s constantly constantly uh learning uh process for everybody Jon is a player that can really shoot the ball you know and uh I want him to be comfortable uh when he

Has open shots to to take those shots shots and for him obviously is uh hard to do that because he’s trying to connect with teammates make the right play and there is that fine balance between being aggressive and and shooting open shots and then connecting and playing inside the system and uh I

Think that there’s going to be a learning curve for him and for team to understand how good of a shooter he is and for everybody to trust him and couple of times uh in games that already happened that the teammates are telling him like you’re open shoot it you know

So um at the same time I think he’s a good decision maker uh I think he’s willing passer and uh defensively you know he he does good job with verticality with active hands um they just got to continue developing on that side of the floor one of the first

Things that comes up when you talk to people about Jon and and even just watching him play his the IQ his feel for the game as somebody that’s been around a lot of young big man over the years like is his significantly higher than you generally see from I mean he’s

Not a 19yearold but he is relatively young in terms of like professional basketball experience um yes I think uh his IQ is is very high uh I think the more he knows his teammates and their spots on the floor and how they play I think that’s going to be showcased even

More um unfortunately he had a couple of injuries that kept him off the floor and recovery and all of that I do believe that his rotation will be in in NBA and uh uh I think that there is a lot of talent to work with uh main thing for

Him is uh staying on the court being healthy and uh and having some continuity with with his play have you noticed the difference in in him or his game since you were with him in Memphis uh for sure I think he matured uh it’s been uh three years since we were

Together in Memphis uh you know he had a very good experience playing in the g- league uh and gaining confidence uh so for sure like just just maturing there is is a big part of uh his development what are you seeing from the defense since the OG Trader since you guys

Brought guys what what’s been going on uh defensively uh everybody whole league is is trying to figure out what’s going on with the league with uh with so much uh scoring and so much three-point shooting uh um obviously we’re missing big time uh Yak he’s he’s very important

For our defense uh we just did a player development plan for him and we went through a couple of things defensively that he can improve on and while going through that exercise we found out that he’s uh fifth best big in the league in P RS you know and that that he’s doing

Really good job of protecting the pain uh so that’s that’s a big uh you know big hit for us not having him those games over here uh at the same time I think uh our discipline in in a couple of those games was uh for the big part

Really really good I think we did a really good job there against uh Clippers with a game plan and ex executing that um start of the game against Utah while we still had some uh some energy I thought that we did a really good job taking them of their

Their Rhythm and after that when we were we were fried already in the second quarter and so tired that that everything went kind of like through the window but uh I see a lot of intention a lot of uh attention to detail and I think this group is committed to

Continue improving on that side of four any any upates on Yak when he might become um as we said in our statement it’s going to be two weeks before we recess and see where he’s at how do you see Scotty’s role changing defensively since you know OG because took on that top guy

Every night for sure and you can see that like uh just the just look at last six games like Scotty is guarding LeBron James next night he’s guarding John morand he’s guarding uh Cav Len poor George uh he’s becoming uh the for us right now is’s becoming priority there

Like putting him on the best players and he he loves that he loves being that guy that’s going to be disruptive and uh you know I thought that he did really good job on Donan Mitchell before that so we’re putting him on the best players on

The other side and uh which is hard job he’s one of our main tools you know offensively at the same time he’s got to do a lot on defense but I think that’s very very healthy for his development U as a competitor and he loves that he loves uh that challenge

What’s the next step for uh next step for him is um just finding continuity inside this team obviously last uh two weeks were very emotional you know for a young player to be traded you know last night was his second night spending in uh in in

Toronto you know and he’s still at a hotel and figuring out how to get to the practice facility and all of that it’s a it’s a lot for for uh for a young player to be traded in the middle of season for him is just like finding some continuity

Learning what it takes to be a starter you know night in night out you know when you play against second unit there is a little bit less of a matchup there offensively and defensively and over here there’s nowhere to hide and we don’t want to hide him I believe that he

Can do good job uh on defensive end as well and uh I’m challenging him to make an Next Step there defensively just to being able to to switch a lot to guard the his up to to be more physical at the same time for him offensively is just uh

Figuring out the balance between being really aggressive and playing inside the team and setting up the his teammates you know so that’s leadership point guard need to take charge of the team is you see that developing in the the you had and how can that how can you

Accelerate that you have so uh whole deal there with with leers ships is uh for me I think it’s very hard to be 23 year old and to be leader you know uh if that’s the case then we would have U you know 23 year old presidents of the

Countries but we don’t see that we see uh we see like much more life experience and you know people in that those positions obviously sport is is is uh for the young people but there is a huge difference between somebody who’s 23 and somebody who’s 27 and somebody who’s 3

Year old I I think for young players in this league they also when they see couple of vets on a team and more veteran players and players with more years in the league they’re not as comfortable to to talk and say things and all of that and all of that comes

With time and with uh with with the territory and um I want to work really hard with uh with uh quickly and with Scotty and RJ to have more voice and to understand that you don’t have to play 10 years in NBA to start talking you

Know it’s you get you when you got address the right things if you see that something is wrong long you got address it so feeling more and more comfortable it’s it’s just going to come with also with guys being more together and getting you know um familiar with each other

Players and Coach speak with the media following Sunday’s practice. #raptors #torontoraptors

00:00 Immanuel Quickley
02:54 Scottie Barnes
04:54 Darko Rajakovic