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The Toronto Raptors Screwed Over DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan got screwed badly. No Raptors player has ever embraced the city of Toronto like him, and no Raptors player has ever reached the stats he’s reached. DeMar leaves town being the Raptors’ all-time leader in games played, minutes and points.
In a 2016 interview with SportsNet’s Michael Grange he said:
“I never wanted to be the guy, when I’m finished, that has four different team jerseys hanging up in my house saying I played for them, I played for them, I played for them,” he explains. “If I could finish my career here and say I did everything here, I’d feel more accomplished than doing it every other place.”
“I take pride when I come in here and there’s a division title hanging up, that’s going to be here forever and I had a part in that. There’s going to be more to come for a franchise that don’t have everything the Garden might have or the Staples Center might have … I want to be part of something that can go on longer than my career.”
What makes the trade even worse, he got traded for a player who doesn’t want to play there and will most likely sign with the Lakers next summer. It could turn out that DeRozan left Toronto in return for nothing.
DeMar is extremely upset with the Raptors, claiming he was lied to after team officials promised him he would not be traded.
Meanwhile, @DeMar_DeRozan not backing off of claim he was lied to by Toronto regarding a potential trade, per source. Extremely upset.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 18, 2018
With all these crazy trades, people still want players to be loyal?! Come on! Isaiah Thomas, Blake Griffin and now DeMar DeRozan! Three players who’ve been as loyal as they come… all traded within a year! And there still are people who hate on players because they jump ship?! Get real!
