One could only imagine how tough the past several days has been for San Antonio Spurs swingman DeMar DeRozan. The All-Star guard was the centerpiece of a package that the Toronto Raptors sent to the Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green last week.
DeRozan, however, looks to be coping just fine. In a recent sit-down interview with Chris Haynes of ESPN, DeRozan revealed that Rudy Gay was among the first people he contacted upon learning that he’s about to get sent to the Western Conference. With the way DeRozan told the story, it’s quite obvious how big of a role Gay played in helping the former accept the way his stint in Toronto ended (h/t Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints).
#Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) says he’s still in shock about trade from #Raptors, but says he called close friend and former teammate Rudy Gay (@RudyGay) that night and they started laughing about being reunited.
(Via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/vyPCeM5ucq— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 25, 2018
“Second person I talked to that night that I’m close friends with, Rudy Gay. I called him. I remember being… I was upset. I called him like ‘Ujiri is trading me, man.’ Rudy was like, ‘To who?’ I said, ‘To you.’ He started laughing. He said ‘I don’t mean to laugh, but I got my boy back, right? You’re going to be all right.’”
Not many people remember that Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan were teammates before in Toronto, largely because Gay’s stint with the Raptors was short lived. Gay was traded by the Memphis Grizzlies to Toronto in January 2013. Then in December of the same year, the Raptors flipped Gay to the Sacramento Kings.
Gay and DeRozan are also starting to build their on-court chemistry again, as the two have been spotted playing Drew League games together this summer.
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