The decision to trade DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs came as a shock to Toronto Raptors fans and many still haven't quite come to terms with it. The 28-year-old was the face of the franchise and a real fans' favourite so his departure will take some getting used to after he spent nine years in Canada. But it's DeRozan himself who has taken the news the hardest as he had no plans to leave Toronto and didn't see the trade coming.
Mistreated
The shooting guard committed his future to the team when he re-signed for five years as a free agent in 2016.
It's taken almost a week for the four-time All-Star to speak out about the trade to the Spurs but he finally made his feelings public in an interview with ESPN's Chris Haynes.
He admitted he was blindsided by the move and criticised Raptors president Masai Ujiri for showing him a lack of respect.
"I felt like I wasn't treated with what I sacrificed for nine years, with the respect that I thought I deserved," DeRozan said.
"By just giving me the say-so of letting me know something's going on, or there's a chance. That's all I wanted. ... I'm not saying you don't have to trade me.
"Just let me know something's going on, because I sacrificed everything. Just let me know. That's all I ask.
"Everybody know I'm the most low-maintenance person in the world. Just let me know, so I can prepare myself for whatever my next chapter is, and I didn't get that."
In his press conference last week, Ujiri appeared to take indirect jabs at both DeRozan and former head coach Dwane Casey by stating that he "gave them chances" to succeed.
Casey was fired after suffering a second consecutive sweep to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
"I mean, when you say "them," that's kind of frustrating. Like, who is "them"?" DeRozan said.
"You put the blame on just me and Casey? Because obviously we are the only two who had to suffer from the loss that we had in the Cleveland series.
"At the end of the day, I gave everything I had to that team. And it showed, it showed in the progress we made as a team and me as an individual.
"So when you put that out there saying "gave them chances" and "I have to do something" ... it's B.S. to me."
It's clear the All-NBA guard feels bitterness towards Ujiri and the Raptors organisation for mistreating him but his willingness to open up publicly about his thoughts shows that he's slowly dealing with the disappointment.
He'll eventually move on from this and have an opportunity to make a name for himself in San Antonio where he'll be working under arguably the best coach in NBA history.
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