Damon Stoudamire has 'a lot of regret' over departure from Raptors

When looking back on the early days of the Raptors, a common sentiment is one wondering what could've been.

Between the untimely departures of Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby and Damon Stoudamire, the names that came and went from Toronto in the franchise's infancy are ones that could've made some noise had it all stuck.

Stoudamire is the latest former Raptor to express some regret about how his time came to an abrupt end, pondering a possible successful future in the city had he stayed or left on better terms.

"I look back on it and I've got a lot of regret about it," Stoudamire said in the Sportsnet documentary Raptors Delight about the birth of the team. "It was just like, what could've been? Just like that it was over."

While Carter's trade away from Canada is the move that left most fans with a bad taste in their mouths, "Mighty Mouse" set the table for what would be a tumultuous first few years of basketball in the city.

The team's first-ever selection at the NBA Draft, nabbed seventh overall in 1995 out of the University of Arizona, Stoudamire was dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers after playing only two seasons with the team in a trade that netted Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams and three draft picks.

But the precursor to the trade was where the drama truly took shape. The point guard was close with then-executive vice president and general manager Isiah Thomas, who resigned from his position with the Raptors in 1998 following a dispute with new management.

"To see someone every day, to have dialogue with them, and then boom all of a sudden they're not there anymore. That messed me up, not gonna lie," Stoudamire said.

"I didn't really know where I stood even though I knew where I stood. I just wanted my way. It was immaturity as well."

"I appreciated the fact that he didn't feel comfortable anymore with Isiah gone and was forthright in terms of what his discussions were and what his plans were and with that you're able to deal with the situation," former Raptors GM Glen Grunwald said, who took over from Thomas after his resignation.

Past Thomas' departure, Stoudamire's disillusionment with the team came when he requested a trade but a deal with the Houston Rockets fell through at the last second, leaving the 1996 rookie of the year in limbo and leaving fans infuriated that he wanted to leave in the first place.

"For me to have to come back and play in front of all the fans who, at that time, thought I was gone. Now, I gotta put up with mixed reactions and criticism," Stoudamire said in a pre-game media availability at the time. "To me, that showed me right there that they didn't care about me."

Eventually, just ahead of the 1998 trade deadline, Stoudamire would get his wish and was dealt to Portland, his hometown.

He remained with the team for the next seven seasons but was unable to reach the highs he had in his first two years in Toronto, never eclipsing the 20.2 points he had in the 1996-97 campaign of the 9.3 assists he had in his rookie year.

Regardless of what came next, of the success or shortfalls he had in years to come, Stoudamire expressed regret for the end of his Toronto tenure and an understanding that immaturity perhaps got in the way of something greater.

"I had a lot of immaturity at that time. So Glen's job is to find the best deal for the Toronto Raptors, it's not to appease Damon Stoudamire," he admitted.

The first episode of the Raptors Delight documentary will air on Sportsnet on Boxing Day ahead of the Raptors' game against the Memphis Grizzlies — coincidentally a 30th-anniversary game for both franchises.