With the Toronto Raptors currently battling the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, there is often thought back to DeMar DeRozan who was traded for Kawhi Leonard. Many view the trade as what put the Raptors over the Eastern Conference hump.
Speaking with Taylor Rooks on Bleacher Report‘s Take it There, DeRozan reveals that he felt that he was “the sacrificial lamb” to their success now.
“Honestly, I don’t think I even said this — I probably said it to my own inner circle — but if it wasn’t for all the years and groundwork that I did before then, none of them things would’ve been possible,” DeRozan said to Rooks. “Yes, I fought, I sacrificed, I pushed the limits to where I had to be the sacrificial lamb.”
When asked about how he feels after the trade, he revealed that it was hurt over anger, due to what he had to leave behind. Many suspect DeRozan to be bitter by the decision of the Raptors, he lets it be known that he supports his best friend Kyle Lowry and his former teammates in their attempt to win the franchise’s first title.
“I’m rooting for my best friend to do well, to accomplish something that we tried to do all the years, and he has the opportunity to do it. All the guys on that team, they know I’m rooting for them.”
Also in the interview, DeRozan speaks on his mental health and what he shared with Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, creating a rap album and more.
You can see the entire interview above, which you can get a preview of below.
“I had to be the sacrificial lamb” @DeMar_DeRozan is still rooting for the Raptors in the Finals but explains why he was so hurt when the trade went down. Season finale of “Take It There” with @TaylorRooks https://t.co/CNL1gyPDtm pic.twitter.com/WKUtzvow29
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2019
I wouldn’t normally do this, but I want you to be able to see the raw unedited conversation Demar Derozan & I had about the Raptors. He was so open..his full thoughts deserve to be out there in their full context. Demar shined in this. A truly good humanpic.twitter.com/HCXdqMOfiT
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) June 4, 2019
