I feel like I woke up in the twilight zone today. Some ‘Western Conference Exec’ thinks Toronto is a good landing place for DeMar DeRozan!? Seriously!?
Here’s the actual quote from an article by hoopshype.com:
It sounds crazy, but Toronto actually makes a lot of sense as a landing spot for DeRozan,” another Western Conference executive said. “As far as what Toronto would have to give up, it would probably have to be a first-round pick plus Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol.
Now I will spend the rest of the article picking apart this take and enjoying every second of it.
Masai Would Never
Probably the most underrated and under-discussed aspect of the success of the Toronto Raptors is a near-complete lack of drama within the organization. Even when Kyle Lowry was upset that his bestie was traded, he had some feels but he got over it and went back to work; now he’s an NBA Champion.
DeRozan was not shy in sharing his feelings about being traded from the Raptors. For instance, he told ESPN:
I felt like I wasn’t treated with what I sacrificed for nine years, with the respect that I thought I deserved.
Why would you ever want to bring a player with that kind of sentiment back into a team with the same Execs? I mean, all his sacrifice? The man only made $93, 515, 845 playing basketball in Toronto. What a sacrifice indeed!
Bringing DeRozan back to the Raptors now would be contrary to everything Masai Ujiri has done. I mean, there can’t be anyone who thinks that this would be a happy reunion. Really think about this. Imagine you were part of a team, any kind of team that tickles your fancy. A sports team. A debate club. A trivia team.
How would you feel if you were removed from the team; the team then went on to win the highest title available to be won; then the team says, “Yeah, we’ll take you back now that we’ve won it all without you.” Are you likely to be super-excited to be there? Are you going to have a great attitude about being on that team? Not very likely.
The Raptors Don’t Need Him
Don’t look now but the Raptors are currently in a three-way tie for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. I don’t believe the Celtics are going to be able to maintain their current position since they don’t have Gordon Hayward for the foreseeable future and their early schedule is making them look better than they are.
The 76ers have made themselves a non-issue and as good as Miami’s regular season has been so far, never underestimate what a lack of playoff experience can do to a team come the postseason. And sure Milwaukee is currently leading the conference but that scenario seems somehow familiar…
Also, if you haven’t been paying attention, the Raptors are a defensively focused team. DeMar’s lack of even the slightest defensive ability and his apparent unwillingness to address that deficiency was a constant aggravation to me when he was still in Toronto.
Things have not improved in San Antonio.
Every once in awhile an NBA professional says something so inexplicable that it makes me feel like I’m at least as well qualified for their job as they are. This was one of those moments.
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