Even sitting comfortably in first place can’t always satisfy a player in the NBA. Not when your best friend, who you have played with for so many years is no longer with you on the team. It’s been quite some time since the Toronto Raptors shipped off one of their most important players, DeMar DeRozan, in order to acquire Kawhi Leonard. And although Raptors star guard Kyle Lowry is happy with his current situation, he still can’t help but feel a small empty part inside of him while conquering the Eastern Conference without his buddy.
After struggling to move on in the playoffs countless times, the Raptors needed to figure out how to take their game to the next level. Winning regular season games was easy, but finishing the job in the postseason has never really been a strong point for Toronto. And although Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have competed well together, they could never achieve the ultimate prize of winning the NBA Finals. Actually, they couldn’t even get there.
With that, the team needed to bring in somebody who could potentially take Toronto above and beyond. It was going to be a steep price to pay, but Raptors President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri knew that somebody important had to go in order to complete the move. Unfortunately, it was DeRozan, and the former Raptors star was not too pleased, to say the least.
DeRozan Felt Betrayed
It’s pretty much out there that DeMar DeRozan felt betrayed after being traded to the Spurs. Although he adjusted to San Antonio and his role within the team, it still took some time for the wounds to heal for the veteran, as he was going to be forced to play with a team other than the Toronto Raptors for the first time since he was drafted to the NBA in 2009.
DeMar DeRozan’s IG story rn…
Nowadays, DeRozan seems very comfortable in his situation with San Antonio. Before the season had begun, the former Raptors star was very open about his feeling towards the situation, and while he still seemed a bit shaken up from the change, he was beginning to leave it all in the past while looking forward to moving along towards a successful relationship with the Spurs. Kyle Lowry, on the other hand, won’t get over the situation to this day.
Kyle Lowry Won’t Drop It
Recently, Lowry sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols at the Raptors practice facility. The Toronto star wouldn’t hold anything back while discussing the situation that everybody is curious to hear about. How does Lowry feel about not only losing a teammate but losing his best friend that has been his teammate for years?
Kyle Lowry tells @Rachel__Nichols about the 2:30 a.m. call where he learned his best friend had been traded to the Spurs.
“I Felt Betrayed Because he Felt Betrayed.”
Till this day, Kyle Lowry won’t fully get over the situation from back in July. Despite this game being a business, Lowry is still having trouble facing the fact that nobody’s spot on a roster is safe as long as there is somebody better out there available. Lowry may not want to believe it, but Kawhi Leonard does give the Raptors a much-needed boost to possibly take the team further than they could have gotten with DeRozan on board.
Lowry may not want to believe that – but he doesn’t seem to care. He’s still frustrated. In fact, he won’t even say much about Masai Ujiri. After Ujiri pulled the trigger on the trade back in the Summer, Lowry describes their relationship as “He’s the President of Basketball Operations, and that’s it, he does his job, and I do my job.” That’s where Lowry and Ujiri stand after the deal. Will Lowry ever get over it? It seems doubtful. Maybe bringing a ring to Toronto could help.
Comments
Raptors’ Kyle Lowry Is Still Bitter About the DeMar DeRozan Trade