DeMar DeRozan was clearly hurt by the Toronto Raptors' decision to trade him to the San Antonio Spurs in order to acquire Kawhi Leonard, and one of the biggest reasons was because DeRozan had met with the Raptors' front office before the trade and came away thinking there was almost no way he would be dealt.
The saga sparked another discussion about loyalty in sports, and Washington Wizards star John Wall is the latest to weigh in. Wall is a friend of DeRozan's, and he's not happy with how that situation played out, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
“It was interesting. In my opinion, I don't think there was loyalty shown on DeRozan's part,” Wall said. “This is a business and you understand that. [But], if you talk to me man-to-man, then just be honest with me. We're all grown men.”
While the NBA is a business and loyalty often goes by the wayside, it's easy to side with Wall and DeRozan here. Front offices will ultimately do what's best for the team, but at the very least they can keep their stars in the loop and make sure the lines of communication are open when these discussions are happening. DeRozan will surely get over what happened, but it seems like Masai Ujiri and the Raptors could have handled the situation much better than they did.
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