One of the players that put the Toronto Raptors on the map was DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan and Kyle Lowry would unite to create a dynamic duo together, resulting in memorable regular seasons. While there were shortcomings in the postseason, both players gave it their all to the city of Toronto.
All good things come to an end and the organization had to make a tough choice. In order to get over the hump, the Raptors traded DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
At the time, DeRozan only knew Toronto and did not expect to be traded. However, the NBA is a business and he opened up about his ‘breakup,’ with the Raptors, via The Shift:
“It was beyond difficult for me because you know, I invested so much, not just on the court, off the court as well. I grew here, I learned so much here. I became a father during my time here. You know, I was 19 when I first came so everything, from my high and lows, career-wise happened here and so much life-wise happened here as well. So when it happened, for sure, the first breakup is always the hardest. It’s always the hardest, it’s always the toughest especially when it happened unexpectedly, when you feel like you’ve given your all at the height of your career. So for that to happen, it definitely took a toll.”
However, that trade happened back in 2018, a lot has changed since then. DeRozan is on his third team now and he went on to say that there are no hard feelings between he and the Raptors:
“Yeah, for sure. Definitely. Yeah, definitely moved past it. No animosity, no nothing.”
There is no denying DeRozan’s impact on the Raptors organization on and off the floor. He will always be remembered as a Raptors all-time great for turning the team into a formidable threat in the Eastern Conference.
It is good to see that he has healed from that shocking trade. Which ultimately benefited Toronto as the Raptors won their first championship with Leonard.
DeMar DeRozan stats with Raptors
To put it into perspective, DeMar DeRozan played 675 games with the franchise and averaged 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 28.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
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