DeMar DeRozan spent the first nine years of his career with the Toronto Raptors before being sent to San Antonio by Kawhi Leonard as part of the trade. The Shooting Guard now spoke about the events and was disappointed by Raptor President Masai Ujiri.
Talking to Chris Haynes of ESPN, DeRozan explained that he was still in shock and had not been able to process the events properly. At the same time, the disappointment remains great. “I have a feeling that I have not been treated properly. “I’ve given it all for nine years and I don’t think I’ve got the respect I deserve for it.”
Especially the meager communication with Ujiri was the main reason for the new track. “I would have liked to have been informed in advance that I might be traded. That’s all I wanted. “It doesn’t mean I wanted a trade, it just means I’m up to date.”
Ujiri also confessed at the press conference after the trade that dealing with DeRozan was not optimal. The Raptors president apologized for the lack of communication, which only acknowledged GDR with a Facepalm emoji on Instagram.
Especially the sentence that Ujiri “gave them” a chance with his arrival in 2013, as the president put it, is incomprehensible to DeRozan. “Is he gonna blame it all on me and Coach Dwane Casey? “We only ever lost to Cleveland in the playoffs, and they made it to the finals every year.”
For DeRozan it is therefore clear that Ujiri only had to look for culprits. “When he says things like’giving them a chance’ or’I had to do something’, it’s bullshit for me.”
The Raptors played the best season in their franchise history last season, winning 59 games in the Regular Season before ending the second play-off round against the Cavaliers and LeBron James.