The course of Toronto Raptors franchise history was forever changed in 2018 when the team decided to trade fan favorite and cornerstone DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a blockbuster deal to acquire superstar Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard spent one year with the Raptors, guiding them — alongside Kyle Lowry — to the 2019 NBA championship and largely bringing an end to the Kevin Durant-Golden State Warriors dynasty. Leonard then headed home to join the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency, sending the Raptors into a different direction that ultimately ended in a rebuild starting last season.
DeRozan has spent time with the Spurs, Chicago Bulls and now Sacramento Kings since then. He has had some incredible personal success, but has not spent much time on a winning team. And in his ideal world, he might still be with the Raptors.
DeRozan discussed his attitude toward the trade that completely altered the course of his career on the “Club 520” Podcast:
“It was tough, because everybody knows I wanted to be there. I wanted to stay there. That was home. Getting traded, the way it went down, that part hurt more than anything.”
The trade still hurts DeRozan, so one can only imagine the level to which it hurt in the direct aftermath. He gave some insight as to how his next couple weeks were after the deal in 2018:
“What’s crazy, when I got traded, I didn’t talk to nobody for like, [expletive] two weeks. I didn’t answer my phone. I was mad as [expletive]. I ain’t gonna lie, I was in my feelings. Man, I was hurt.”
Often forgotten in blockbuster trades is the fact that players have their entire lives uprooted, rarely with any warning. DeRozan had been a member of the Raptors for years and was deeply embedded in Toronto culture. And with little notice, he had to pack his bags, move to San Antonio and start anew building a relationship with a franchise.
The veteran star has every right to be frustrated by how things went down six years ago, even if he’s had plenty of personal success in the years since.
Gary Trent Jr. says goodbye to Raptors
The Raptors and three-and-D guard Gary Trent Jr. parted ways this offseason as he signed a one-year contract to join Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. It was a surprising minimum deal for the 25-year-old, but a dry free agent market forced him to take a potentially below market value deal.
Trent and the Raptors were no longer on the same timeline, with the guard being capable of contributing to winning basketball and Toronto needing the 2024-2025 season to retool around Scottie Barnes. And it’s clear that the parting of ways was not due to any kind of dramatic fallout.
Trent confirmed this with a lovely goodbye message to the city of Toronto, along with Raptors fans and the organization an Instagram post after ending his 3.5-year tenure with the team.
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