Few trades have been as emotional as DeMar DeRozan’s.
He’d pledged loyalty to a franchise once scorned by the majority of the league’s players, and was completely blindsided by the move.
But it wasn’t just DeRozan who was cut up by the trade.
His best buddy Kyle Lowry felt the same way.
“It was 2:30 in the morning, and I’m like, I get the phone, it’s DeMar,” Lowry told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on The Jump.
“So I pick up and he’s like — he said some choice words that I’m not going to say on ESPN. But he’s like, ‘Yo, I just got traded to San Antonio. … “I’m sitting on my bathtub ’cause (there’s) a little ledge. I’m like, ‘What? You just — what? Hold on.’
“And I sat there for a little bit. We just sat there, and you know, because at the same time, you’re like, man, you don’t know what to say.”
Nichols then asked if Lowry felt betrayed the same way DeRozan did.
“I felt betrayed because he felt betrayed because that’s my guy, that’s my best friend,” Lowry said.
“So yeah, I felt some type of way on a personal side. It’s a harsh business. It’s a great business, but sometimes moves are made that you’re like, ‘Ugh, wow, that sucks.’”
The Raptors, of course, have benefited from the move tremendously.
With Kawhi Leonard taking DeRozan’s place, Toronto is first in the Eastern Conference with a 20-5 record, while looking every bit like a title contender.
While that must go some way in easing the pain for Lowry, it clearly doesn’t entirely change how he feels.
I know that in the moment, I wouldn’t care if Basketball Forever’s stock went up if all my dudes got traded to Bleacher Report.
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