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Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry was awakened at 2:30 a.m. on a late July night by a random call from his teammate DeMar DeRozan. Lowry had missed his prior call, and soon picked up the next, knowing something must be off. DeRozan began to explain what had just happened, traded to the San Antonio Spurs after being assured no imminent talks were serious.
Lowry listened quietly, giving DeRozan all the time he needed to vent as he sat in a Jack In The Box parking lot in disbelief.
“He’s the guy that emotionally, we were invested, like that’s my dog,” Kyle Lowry told Michael Lee of The Athletic. “What can you say? I was just like, ‘Damn. Crazy.’
“It was a tough moment for people to understand because you’ve invested so much time and emotion, business, and family into an organization and they trade you. That’s when you really know it’s a business. I got my taste of the business early, my second year in the league, but he’s never had to deal with that.”
Lowry remained quiet throughout the entire offseason, staying out of social media and only saying what was necessary through his week in Las Vegas for the Team USA call-up, hoping not to bubble up an already upsetting situation.
The Villanova product was traded early in his career after the Memphis Grizzlies had found his replacement in Mike Conley Jr. and was now at the other end of the ball, seeing his best friend leave as part of the business of basketball.
Kyle Lowry comforted DeMar DeRozan, but made it a point to look forward, not back, which so far has paid rich dividends for his team, who holds the best record in the league at 18-4.