Amid the intense gambling investigation, Darko Rajakovic made a pressing update. Ever since the league announced the probe, the Toronto Raptors players and the management have been under the scanner. Moreover, the team also excluded Jontay Porter from the line-up in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The league kick-started the probe when it found irregularities in the prop betting of Jontay Porter over the last few months. This issue attracted a lot of eyeballs only after a particular incident. During the game against the LA Clippers on January 26th, there was reportedly increased interest in Porter’s props. While he was expected to play longer, he played for only four minutes, citing a re-aggravation of an eye injury. Addressing the issue, the team HC said, “As a coach, I don’t doubt players’ injuries … honesty … obviously I’ve never had a situation like this before.”

The Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic cleared himself out of the issue, stating that he has never been in a similar situation before. Moreover, he also said that he trusts Jontay Porter over his early exit from the Clippers game in January. ESPN reported that the league had started the investigation after a suspected betting activity on January 26th and March 20.

The issue came to light when multiple US sportsbooks tracked an increased betting interest in the 24-year-old player. Adrian Wojnarowski stated the usual prop bets would be around $1000 to $2000, but for the Clippers game, people strangely bet on Porter for over $10k.

Following the alert from the sportsbooks industry, the NBA didn’t immediately respond. On Monday, NBA’s spokesperson issued a short statement to ESPN which read, “We’re looking into it.”

Will the probe turn into a catastrophe for Darko Rajakovic & Co?

As Rajakovic established that he has never been in such a situation before, the team will travel on an unexplored terrain in the coming days. Currently, the Raptors at the 12th seed of the Eastern Conference with an underwhelming 23-49 record.

With only 10-odd games left in the season, the Raptors barely have any chance to make it to the playoffs. If the ongoing probe goes against the franchise player, he could face a fine, suspension, or maybe even termination. The NBA laid a restriction on the players and all league employees from engaging in betting for any league events.

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Since the league is yet to make its decision on the probe, any statement on Jontay Porter could act in a speculative nature. What do you make of Darko Rajakovic’s statement? Let us know in the comments.

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