Scariolo remains on the verge of being head coach in the NBA: the Raptors choose Rajakovic

Sergio Scariolo will not be the new head coach of the Raptors, the NBA team with which he was already champion in 2019 as an assistant. The Italian was among the favourites, which would have made him the first coach purely trained in Europe to take a leap that resists. The Canadian franchise, as reported by ESPN, has chosen a European, yes. But Darko Rajakovic, 44, has been in American basketball since he landed in the G-League in 2012.

The interest in Toronto for the Spanish coach was known. Last month they traveled to Italy, where Scariolo is still in command of Virtus -on Sunday he will play the second game of the Lega final against Armani Milan- to meet him and his name was among the final shortlist to replace Nick Nurse. That of another Spaniard, Jordi Fernández, also sounded loud. But the Raptors, in a somewhat surprising decision, have opted for Rajakovic, who before being an assistant at Grizzlies, Suns and Thunder had a stint in Spain: in 2009 he directed Espacio Torrelodones, with which he was promoted to the EBA League in 2010.

The other two names considered by President Masai Ujiri and General Manager Bobby Webster were Kenny Atkinson and Charles Lee, according to information from Adrian Wojnarowski.

Scariolo, therefore, will continue in Bologna and, of course, in charge of the Spanish team that this summer faces its defense of world gold. One of the old desires of the man from Brescia is not fulfilled, although he has already expressed on more than one occasion his little faith in that leap of a coach fully trained in Europe at the command of an NBA bench (Rajakovic joins his name to that of Igor Kokoskov ). “I have never had the feeling that they were going to name me first coach. Even when I was interviewed for that position, I never had it.. I think they are not willing to take this step yet,” he said in an interview on Sport24.gr a year ago.

“You never know what's going to happen in the future, but I don't see right now a European coach making the jump from Europe and being the head coach of an NBA franchise without spending a few years as an assistant. The question is: how many years do you think it takes? need? It's strange” and continued with his reasoning: “It's their own world. They welcome talents, players, coaches and even agents when they can help the organization improve. But give the keys to 'foreigners' in a position of leadership is something that still needs a few more years to happen.