"It Hurt. It Hurt Like Sh**": DeMar DeRozan Opens Up About Being Traded By Toronto

 

It's over three years ago now, but it seems that the emotional wounds are still fresh in DeMar DeRozan's mind, from that day in 2018 when he got "the call" from Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri to tell him he'd been traded from the city that he loved. He talked to Draymond Green on Bleacher Report's Chips

DeRozan recounted that it was "one of the toughest times ever," and after he got the call, he sat outside a fast-food restaurant, by himself, stunned.

DeRozan said he got a call from Masai while he was in a movie, so he called back afterwards, and was told about the trade to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard. 

"I tapped the driver, said 'stop the car', and walked and sat outside a Jack in the Box for like two hours." 

He went on to say "It hurt. It hurt like sh*t... When it happened, it hit me hard.... A lot of people always think 'aw, I was bitter', but it was like, nah, it f****d me up, because they don't know how much I had put into it. It was one of the toughest times ever."

He admitted that he was rooting for the Raptors to win the championship in 2019, even though he wasn't a part of it:

"Those guys out there were my partners, my brothers. Kyle, Freddie, Pascal, OG,  Norm... All those guys on that team were my dawgs. I stayed in constant communication with them. Every game, whether it was a good game, bad game."

He admitted that by the time they were playing Green's Golden State Warriors in the Finals, he had to get out of the country to avoid the media coverage. But he's still glad for his Raptors brothers:

"I'm happy to this day. I'm happy for the city, I'm happy for those guys that won it. But of course, my goal was to be the one that made that happen."

DeRozan spent a decade with the Raptors, and it seems will always have a piece of the team, the fans, and the city of Toronto, in his heart. 

Photo Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports