The DeMar DeRozan – Kawhi Leonard trade will go down as one of the most important in NBA history. The repercussions from that trade are still being felt in the league to this day. DeMar DeRozan was the star of the Toronto Raptors for several years and was a key part of their success in the 2010s.
But shockingly, in 2018, a few months after the Raptors once again failed to make the Eastern Conference Finals, Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri decided to let go of DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poetl and bring in former Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green via a trade. Overnight, DeRozan had to bid farewell to his team, city, and country.
The Raptors benefited from the trade greatly, as Leonard helped lead the franchise to their first-ever NBA championship. Whereas DeRozan struggled with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard went on to leave in free agency and join the LA Clippers to return home. But the relationship between him and the Raptors remains strong. The same cannot be said for DeRozan.
DeMar DeRozan was a guest on Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ show. During the interview, Shannon and DeRozan discussed his trade out of Toronto. DeRozan revealed that he was stunned, as he and the franchise had spoken a few days before about running it back with the same core of players. DeRozan also revealed that he got the call about the trade a day before the news broke. According to DeRozan, he got a call from Masai Ujiri, and upon hearing the news, DeRozan hung up the phone on him.
“I got the call before it came out so I knew the night before it came out. I talked to him (Masai) and he told me. I just hung up the phone. I just said it was done, I just hung up.”
DeRozan is one of the key players during this offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers, among other teams, hold interest in DeRozan and could look to bring him in. After several years of going up against LeBron James and failing to beat him, DeRozan could join him in an effort to win a championship.
