Everything 2018 Off Season

[JimiCliff]

DeRozan tells ESPN: "I gave everything I had to that team. Every single day and night, whatever was asked from me to make us better. And it showed... So when (Ujiri) put that out there saying 'gave them chances' and 'I have to do something'... it's B.S. to me."

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) July 25, 2018

Ok, Demar's officially become petty.

[Apollo]

DeRozan tells ESPN: "I gave everything I had to that team. Every single day and night, whatever was asked from me to make us better. And it showed... So when (Ujiri) put that out there saying 'gave them chances' and 'I have to do something'... it's B.S. to me."

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) July 25, 2018

That's what is expected of a star making close to $30M/yr. They all do that. It sounds like he doesn't realize that Kawhi Leonard is a much superior player. It sounds like he's taking business very personally.

I get that DeMar feels insulted about being traded but bitching and moaning about it to the press makes him look weak and unprofessional. No one likes rejection but in the series' with the Cavs he's proven without a shadow of a doubt that he's not a #1 option or strong enough leader for a contender. He's very talented but he just does not rise to the occasion and so he cannot elevate others. He needs to change his game a little and settle into being a 3rd option on a really good team.

[Apollo]

What are the Spurs getting in DeMar DeRozan? "A guy that has proven himself time and time again, this time around having the biggest chip on his shoulder ever, that I ever had in my career." (from ESPN)

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) July 25, 2018

See the problem is with that is a "chip on my shoulder" for DeMar probably means chucking up more bad shots.

He just finished saying he played as hard as he possibly could while in Toronto. This sort of takes the power out of that statement.

[MACK11]

I'm so glad this franchise has move on from DeRozan. Apparently you cannot trade players anymore because it hurts there feelings

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

[Apollo]

Well good...but where was the chip on your shoulder vs the Cavs?!

The chip on his shoulder got so big and heavy that he couldn't even lift himself off the bench in the fourth quarter...

[Puffer]

The first week after the breakup. Both sides still hurting.

[golden]

More hate coming to Raptors on social media and ESPN tomorrow. I just hope that this wont stick for long and top free agents will start avoiding the Raps for a few seasons cause of Demar.

When did top free agents ever consider Toronto? Ever. That's why we have make trades like this. It's not going to have an impact whatsoever.

Masai obviously tried his hardest to keep DeMar and Kyle out of the trade, but he HAD to do it. I personally couldn't sit through another season knowing how this episode ends. 3 out of the last 4 off-seasons have ended in embarassing sweeps. The other one wasn't a sweep because the Cavs clearly took their foot of the gas and we celebrate that ECF appearance like we won the Super Bowl. The KL/DD/Casey core was mentally flawed, or simply not good enough. Something had to be done.

[golden]

That's what is expected of a star making close to $30M/yr. They all do that. It sounds like he doesn't realize that Kawhi Leonard is a much superior player. It sounds like he's taking business very personally.

I get that DeMar feels insulted about being traded but bitching and moaning about it to the press makes him look weak and unprofessional. No one likes rejection but in the series' with the Cavs he's proven without a shadow of a doubt that he's not a #1 option or strong enough leader for a contender. He's very talented but he just does not rise to the occasion and so he cannot elevate others. He needs to change his game a little and settle into being a 3rd option on a really good team.

DeMar has been benched at least 3 times in absolutely critical playoff games that I can remember: Wiz' closeout game this year, Pacers' closeout game, Game 3 vs. Cavs. That's unheard of for a superstar and even moreso considering the guy benching him is the most loyal coach ever.... his dad, Casey. That's exactly what Masai is talking about when he says.... I gave them chances.

I don't feel like we owed DeMar a job for life. We built a fool's gold system to hide his flaws on both sides of the court and he benefitted disproportionately than the rest of the team because of it. Now he's acting like he's as good as Kawhi and throwing it back in the franchise's face. Really disappointed in Demar... it's a bad look.

[JimiCliff]

Between the blowback he's got from this trade and the Casey firing, I think the days of Masai giving his employees a long leash are over.

[LJ2]

More hate coming to Raptors on social media and ESPN tomorrow. I just hope that this wont stick for long and top free agents will start avoiding the Raps for a few seasons cause of Demar.

We weren't exactly a hot spot for free agents...and guys like Carroll will go anywhere that pays them as well as we did.

[LJ2]

How bout play some defense? Dive for a loose ball? I rarely saw either. Yeah we know you worked hard every year to get as close to Kobes offense as you could. And yet the stats showed every single year we were better with you off the court.

#TeamMasai

#TeamRaptors

He's not bashing the team, the city or the fans. He's speaking to how the trade was handled and that's it.

[JimiCliff]

He's not bashing the team, the city or the fans. He's speaking to how the trade was handled and that's it.

Masai's the team president. If you're bashing him, you're bashing the team.

[golden]

He's not bashing the team, the city or the fans. He's speaking to how the trade was handled and that's it.

Nope. Not just the communication. DeMar is also challenging Masai's justification for the trade, specifically, the "I gave them chances" and "had to do something". I mean, the justification is clear: you traded DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard. End of story. The fact that it was a rental speaks to how highly the Raps valued DeMar's on-court performance in the playoffs, and that's eating at him big time. DeMar feels like he's getting blamed for our repeated embarassing playoff exits and he is, deservedly so. And he's fighting back with words, instead of #ProveEm. That's what's going on here.

[rocwell]

Between the blowback he's got from this trade and the Casey firing, I think the days of Masai giving his employees a long leash are over.

That's good

[LJ2]

Masai's the team president. If you're bashing him, you're bashing the team.

I could not disagree more. You think players align themselves with management?