DeMar DeRozan sat down with ESPN’s Chris Haynes for his first interview since the trade that sent the 28-year-old All-Star away from the team that drafted him to the San Antonio Spurs. In the interview, DeRozan shed some light on his current relationship with Raptors general manager and team president Masai Ujiri, and if Ujiri somehow misled him into thinking he wouldn’t be traded.
When asked if at any point did the conversations between he and Ujiri involve him not being a part of the team in the future or perhaps there was what Ujiri described as a “miscommunication” between the two, DeRozan said he had every reason to believe he would begin the season as a Raptor.
“Um no, because all summer, through the conversations we had — through the talks he had with my agent — its seemed like I was in that discussion of moving forward with the team. “My whole approach every summer was preparing, going out there and supporting the young guys at summer league, figuring out ways I can be better, make my team better, and that was the gist of the conversations we had with moving forward. Having the opportunity to do something special all over again, you know? So that was my mindset and everybody around me’s mindset as well.”
In his press conference to announce the trade, Ujiri cited the need to change the course of action and to do something different as the motivation behind trading the Raptors’ all-time leader in scoring. In his interview with ESPN, DeRozan questioned Ujiri’s reasoning calling it “BS.”
DeRozan and the Raptors secured the best record in the Eastern conference at 59-23 but were ousted in the second round of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the series, the Raptors fired head coach Dwane Casey, who would eventually be named the NBA’s 2017-18 Coach of the Year.
“When you say ‘them’ that is kind of frustrating wording, because who are you putting the blame on? Are you putting the blame on me and [Dwane Casey], because we are the only two who had to suffer from the loss we had in the Cleveland series. It’s only one team we lost to in the postseason, and that team went to the [NBA] Finals every single year.
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That wording, when you put that out there, ‘gave them chances,’ or ‘I had to do something different,’ it’s BS to me.”
DeMar DeRozan told Haynes that Ujiri not being upfront with him regarding his motives, despite their long history together, hurt and confused him most of all.
“When you use the word family or brother or whatever — things other people use lightly – with me, once you use that term I stand by that term. So whether it’s something I like or don’t I’m going to accept it if you come to me beforehand, but don’t make one thing seem like another thing and catch me off guard by doing something else. That was my whole problem. I understand how the game goes, how the business goes. My mindset was always ‘I want to be in Toronto my whole career,’ but I was never naïve of that not happening. Just let me know, don’t have me thinking otherwise and that’s where my issue came from, that’s where my frustration came from.”
DeRozan will get the opportunity to connect with his new head coach Gregg Popovich – who DeRozan says Casey told him he would “love” following the trade – at Team USA basketball minicamp that will be held in Las Vegas beginning on Wednesday.
