The Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs rocked the NBA world early Wednesday morning when the Raptors sent DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round draft pick to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The two keys to this trade are DeRozan and Leonard, and what happens with two guys will be what decides who won this trade when looking back at this deal in a few years.
DeRozan gave everything to the Raptors organization during his time there, and they just shipped him off. Close friend and former teammate Lou Williams isn't happy with what the Raptors have done to DeRozan, and the veteran guard tweeted out his displeasure about the trade:
Na. They ain’t snake my man like that. https://t.co/NL0b1EUg40
— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) July 18, 2018
I’m hurt bro. I’m hurt. My dog gave that city and organization his heart and soul. He was loyal to the soil and got stabbed in the back.
— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) July 18, 2018
DeRozan was reportedly at Summer League that he wouldn't be traded, but less then a week later he is packing his bags and going off to San Antonio:
Meanwhile, @DeMar_DeRozan not backing off of claim he was lied to by Toronto regarding a potential trade, per source. Extremely upset.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 18, 2018
DeRozan seems to be very unhappy because of the organization backstabbing him. It will be interesting how he actually feels about heading to San Antonio when this all settles down. He is going to be a key player moving forward for the Spurs as they try to remain competitive in a post-Kawhi era.
As hard as it is now for the players involved in this trade, it is the NBA and finding true loyalty around the league is hard to find. DeRozan was only one year away from securing a no-trade clause in his contract, and that is about the only way in today's NBA that loyalty can actually be found.
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