Though we saw a bit of what DeMar DeRozan thought about Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri when he traded him to the San Antonio Spurs, he took time out of his day to sit down with ESPN and explain what happened and how he felt.
In an interview with Chris Haynes, DeRozan talked about exactly how shit went down from his perspective and how he felt disrespected about the whole situation.
As he put it, two days before the trade, he talked to Ujiri and was informed nothing was happening on the trade front when asked about some of the rumors in the media. Neither he or his agent had any indication of what was about to go down.
And that’s what bothers him the most. DeMar says he wasn’t treated with the respect he deserved after giving 100% to the team for nine seasons. He says he worked hard every year to be better and helped the team better and it showed when he signed his deal with the franchise back in 2016.
DD said he wanted to change the narrative about star players leaving Toronto and wanted to play his entire career with the Raptors.
He also spoke on what it feels like to be playing for Coach Gregg Popovich and his good friend Rudy Gay, and said he was the second person he talked to the night he heard the news of his trade (Kyle Lowry was the first). He’s proud to be in the position to play for a legend such as Pop and looks forward to giving San Antonio his all going forward.
In terms of how he feels about Toronto, he loves the city and confessed they will always have a place in his heart. From the fans to the owner and organization. His only problem is how Ujiri handled the situation, especially when the words like “family” and “brother” were thrown around when talking about their relationship.
DeMar feels like those terms should be backed up by actions and not just be empty words, considering how he sacrificed for the betterment of the team.
He talks about this and much more in the 20-minute conversation above.