New Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan has finally addressed his seemingly siding with Kendrick Lamar in his beef with Drake. DeRozan recently sat down for an interview with Fox40’s Sean Cunningham, who asked him how he appeared in Lamar’s music video and if Drake’s music can no longer be played at Golden 1 Center.
“Love Drake, we always can play him,” DeRozan said. “Kendrick’s been a friend of mine, family. Damn near family, for a long time, for a while. We’re from the same city, we’re up down there in the same neighborhood. It’s always been there. It hasn’t always been publicized, but that’s basically family.”
Asked DeMar DeRozan about his appearance in Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" video and if that signaled the end of playing Drake inside Golden 1 Center. pic.twitter.com/0cRtBImfQm
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) July 9, 2024
At first, DeRozan appeared on stage with Lamar during his first live performance of “Not Like Us” in his Juneteenth show at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The song is a Drake diss track, so for DeRozan, who played for the Toronto Raptors for nine seasons, to be on stage for it was surprising to many.
Things then got even worse for Drake when DeRozan also appeared on the music video that was released earlier this month.
DeMar DeRozan in Kendrick's "Not Like Us" video 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Ku9dge2Vr2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 4, 2024
DeRozan and Drake had become friends when the former was the big star of the Raptors. After DeMar was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 2018, the rapper even put out a touching message on Instagram, where he thanked the star forward for everything he had done for the franchise and the city of Toronto.
“To my brother DeMar DeRozan, I want to say 10 million thank you’s on behalf of YOUR city. You are a fixture in Toronto forever and you gave everything you had. Through your leadership we had the most exciting years in franchise history. I am grateful to have witnessed your combination of skill, persistence, and loyalty from the same seats every night. Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend.”
All of this is what made DeRozan siding with Lamar so surprising, as the bond between these two wasn’t publicized as such. Well, now everyone knows and DeRozan was even introduced to the crowd at Golden 1 Center to the tune of “Not Like Us.”
DeMar DeRozan was just introduced to the crowd in Sacramento to the tune of Kendrick Lamar’s “They Not Like Us.” pic.twitter.com/yhFu6hy1m7
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) July 7, 2024
While the crowd cheered his arrival here, DeRozan should probably brace himself for some boos when the Kings play the Raptors in Toronto next season. The 34-year-old has turned his back on the Canadian icon, and that hasn’t gone down well at all. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a DeRozan diss track get released at some point too.
How Far Can The Kings Go With DeMar DeRozan?
The Kings landed DeRozan on a sign-and-trade, which sees him get a three-year, $73.7 million contract. They didn’t give up much in terms of assets and the contract is reasonable too, so this isn’t a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination.
DeRozan is still playing at a high level as well, as he averaged 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Chicago Bulls in 2023-24. The six-time All-Star also finished runner-up for Clutch Player of the Year and should certainly give a big boost to the Kings’ offense.
Will the addition of DeRozan see the Kings win it all next year, though? I don’t think so. They are still not a great defensive team and I see that ultimately being their downfall come playoffs. The ceiling for them with DeRozan, in my opinion, is the Western Conference Finals.
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