Торонто Рэпторсын дасгалжуулагч Дарко Раякович болон Кавай Леонард нарын хамтын ажиллагааны түүх 15 жилийн өмнөх үйл явдлаас эхтэй болох нь тодорхой боллоо.
Кавай Леонардтай хийсэн ярилцлагын үеэр Торонто Рэпторсын ахлах дасгалжуулагч Дарко Раякович 2011 онд Сан Антонио Спөрст олон улсын скаутаар ажиллаж байхдаа багийн драфтын өрөөнд байсан гэдгээ дурджээ. Тэрээр тухайн үед Грегг Попович болон Р.С. Буфорд нарын хамт Жорж Хиллийг Индиана Пэйсерс рүү явуулж, Леонардын драфтын эрхийг авах шийдвэр гаргахад оролцсон байна.
Леонард Индиана Пэйсерс багт 15-аар сонгогдсоны дараа эрх нь Сан Антонио Спөрст шилжсэн юм. Тухайн үед Поповичийн дуртай тоглогчдын нэг байсан Жорж Хиллийг солилцоонд оруулсан нь багийн хувьд тийм ч хялбар шийдвэр байгаагүйг Раякович онцоллоо. Энэхүү түүхэн үйл явдлын үеэр багийн драфтын өрөөнд байсан гэдгээ сонссон Кавай Леонард ихэд гайхширчээ.
Өдгөө хоёр тал Торонто Рэпторст дахин нэгдэж, Раякович Леонардын ахлах дасгалжуулагчаар ажиллаж байна. Леонард Сан Диего Стейтээс ирсэн хамгаалалт сайтай тоглогчоос NBA-ийн финалын үнэ цэнтэй тоглогч (Finals MVP) хүртэлх замаа туулж, 2014 онд Сан Антонио Спөрст, 2019 онд Торонто Рэпторст аваргалж байсан юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Kawhi Leonard and Darko Rajaković are beginning a new chapter together in Toronto, but their basketball connection actually stretches back 15 years.
During a conversation with Leonard, the Raptors head coach revealed that he was working with the San Antonio Spurs organization in 2011 and was inside the team’s draft room on the night the franchise made one of the most consequential trades in its history.
“I was working with San Antonio. I was coaching in Europe and I was their international scout,” Rajaković told Leonard. “So, the day you got drafted, I was with San Antonio in the draft room. I was part of the trade.”
Rajaković recalled being in a small group alongside members of San Antonio’s decision-making hierarchy, including Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford, as the Spurs made the difficult decision to trade George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for Leonard’s draft rights.
Leonard had been selected 15th overall by Indiana before his rights were sent to San Antonio. Hill, meanwhile, had become one of Popovich’s favorite players, making the decision anything but routine for San Antonio.
Leonard appeared genuinely surprised to learn that his new coach had been in the room that night.
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Leonard responded.
Rajaković simply replied: “Small world.”
Leonard did remember seeing Rajaković around the Spurs organization afterward, albeit only vaguely.
“I remember seeing you around very vaguely,” Leonard said. “Because Pop brings all the coaches over. So, I remember you a little bit, yeah.”
Darko Rajaković tells Kawhi he was scouting for the Spurs in 2011, and his recommendation led to the Spurs trading for him on draft night.
Now, he gets to be Kawhi’s head coach. Surreal. pic.twitter.com/nd3OQSERrl
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 16, 2026
Leonard developed from a defense-first prospect out of San Diego State into a Finals MVP and one of the defining two-way players of his generation. He helped San Antonio win the 2014 NBA championship before eventually becoming the centerpiece of Toronto’s 2019 title run.
Now Leonard has returned to Toronto, and Rajaković is the man coaching him.
That gives their reunion a remarkable symmetry. In 2011, Rajaković was one of the people sitting inside San Antonio’s draft room as the Spurs gambled on Leonard. Fifteen years later, the two are together again, except this time Rajaković is no longer a scout watching Leonard’s career begin. He is his head coach.
The post Full-Circle Moment: Darko Rajaković Was in Spurs’ Draft Room When San Antonio Traded For Kawhi Leonard appeared first on OpenCourt Basketball.
