Chris
Incoming Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has responded to the lawsuit the Knicks organisation has filed against him and his staff members.
It was media day for many NBA teams at the beginning of this week and naturally, Rajakovic was asked about the lawsuit that was filed against the team in August.
“I was surprised,” Rajakovic told reporters during Media Day in Toronto. “I was shocked.”
“I did not know where it was coming from. Obviously, the lawsuit is ongoing. I cannot make too many comments on it.”
In case you missed it, the Knicks and Madison Square Garden Company filed a lawsuit against the Raptors in August alleged the Raptors and their ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, for the illegal procurement of proprietary information.
One former NY staffer, Ike Azotam, moved to the Raptors after several years in the Knicks’ analytical and video departments and allegedly stole thousands of files and documents for Rajakovic.
Raptors president, Masai Ujiri, doesn’t seem to concerned about the lawsuit, as he seemed pretty relaxed about it when asked, giving a rather sarcastic response.
“I think there has been one time in the history of the NBA that a team has sued the team on time,” Ujiri said, per Aaron Rose of All Raptors. “Go figure.”
As for Azotam, he is still a staff member of the Raptors organization and Rajakovic suggested he hasn’t done anything wrong.
“He came to our organization highly recommended by various people in NBA as a high character guy, I had a chance to see that as well,” Rajakovic said of Azotam. “I cannot comment on what happened there, whether he’s innocent or not. To my mind, he is.
