Time, reflection helping DeMar DeRozan restore relationship with Raptors

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMar DeRozan is a thoughtful person. An athlete — maybe the rare one — who is prone to reflection, who can freeze-frame the full speed NBA life and examine things in detail. 

It’s why he was able to release a memoir this past off-season — Above the Noise: My story of Chasing Calm — that details his struggles with mental health and dealing with trauma from his upbringing in Compton, California. 

It’s why, even after all the hard feelings that followed the ground-shifting 2018 trade from the Raptors in the deal for Kawhi Leonard that preceded Toronto’s 2019 title, he’s been able to process them and accept the bridge-building efforts to restore the relationship he had with the team that drafted him and where he played nine seasons. 

It’s also why he didn’t hesitate to participate in the tribute video for Vince Carter that was part of the Hall of Famer's jersey retirement ceremony, which happened to take place on Saturday night when DeRozan was in Toronto with the Sacramento Kings. 

“I just feel like I'm embedded there, you know, it's a second nature thing,” said DeRozan on Wednesday before Toronto’s return match-up with Sacramento, this time in the California state capital. “Anything the Raptors need for me, I feel like I'm an extension of that family for the rest of my life … you kind of have that embedded history that you're called to do things like that when somebody special’s time is up.”

It's a long way from the raw feelings that existed after the trade, when DeRozan could only watch as the team that drafted him raised a banner without him. To say there was tension between DeRozan and Raptors president Masai Ujiri in the aftermath of the deal is an understatement. 

It’s why any concern that the recent dust-up that Drake, the Raptors Global Ambassador tried to stir up with DeRozan — more on that in a moment — might have an effect on the relationship between DeRozan and the organization is misplaced. 

DeRozan and the Raptors have been through worse. 

At a Team USA training camp shortly after the trade in 2018, I asked DeRozan about his relationship with Ujiri. “Done,” he said at the time, having already claimed Ujiri had promised him he wouldn’t be traded. “No reason to have a relationship. It’s just done for me.”

It’s a long way to go from that to participating in a tribute video and being on the floor when Carter’s jersey went up to the rafters. 

But time and reflection can have healing powers, if you are open to it, and DeRozan has clearly walked that road.  

“I mean, initially, at first, when everything happened, it sucked,” he said. “But when you really take a moment and look back, you know, my nine years there, the things I was able to do, the people I was able to meet, the relationships that I hold on to this day. You know, it was so many memories that I would never change, ever. You know, some people don't even have a career like I had in my nine years in Toronto. So to be able to do something like that, and like I said, be a part of that history forever. You know, you find more and more appreciation as time goes by, you know, and that's how I feel about it.”

The feeling is mutual. It’s hard to imagine that DeRozan won’t have his own jersey hanging at Scotiabank Arena, if and when he ever retires. That he was part of the tribute video — along with Kyle Lowry, likely the next Raptor to have his jersey retired — is a pretty strong tell. 

DeRozan remains the Raptors all-time leader in points and games played. He was a four-time All-Star and twice earned all-NBA honours as a Raptor and helped them to five consecutive playoffs and their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance, all while being the star most connected and committed to the city and the franchise.  Carter may have put the Raptors on the map, but DeRozan helped lift the franchise to long-term respectability, if not a title. 

So if he can overcome his hard feelings towards Ujiri, it’s unlikely that anything Drake does will matter much. The hip-hop star is upset with DeRozan for seemingly siding with Compton rap artist Kendrick Lamar during an ongoing feud, saying on the Raptors broadcast Saturday, “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself.” 

At the time, DeRozan was not shaken — “He’s going to have a long way to climb, tell [Drake] good luck” — was his response after the game. Instead, his primary takeaway from Saturday was how much he enjoyed being present for Carter’s ceremony — “it was a special moment, you know, especially with my history there. It was an honour to be there” — and that it only made the prospect of himself being honoured at some point that much more meaningful. 

“Just for it to be a thing that’s brought up as an option, when you have Kyle, and before that it was always Vince, so when you think about me, it's just a humbling gesture,” DeRozan said. “Listen, I was a kid from Compton that moved to Canada that didn't know nothing about nothing. I never would have imagined that I'd be the leading scorer or whatever records I hold there. I never in my life would have imagined that. So when I look back at my time there, it's something that I'm beyond humbled and appreciative of, because nothing will ever supersede my nine years, my first nine years in the league, no matter where I play. You know, that is a staple of who I am.”

All that said, there’s not much need to start planning any ceremonies yet. DeRozan is in the first of a three-year deal with the Kings for $74 million and is producing at a level consistent with his career peak, averaging 25.4 points a game on 52.9 shooting, with four rebounds, four assists and two steals through seven games. He is tied for the team lead in minutes-played after leading the NBA in minutes last season with the Bulls. 

He’s not young, he’s not the highflyer he used to be. Yet he remains one of the most reliable players in the NBA. With a night off Tuesday, he couldn’t help but reflect on the unlikeliness of it all. 

“I found myself just having a moment, kind of last night, texting my trainer, just saying, like, you know, we really put everything into this, and to still be doing this and still be appreciated, still to be looked at as a high-level player in this league, that's all you can ask for,” DeRozan said.  “Because [people are] so quick to have a narrative of getting old, regression, you know, all that. You know, I don't believe in that, because I really love the game, and I put so much into and continue to get better every year.”

As for the future, he’ll let time take care of itself. He has no plan to try and match Carter’s 22 seasons in the NBA but hopes he’ll outlast his buddy Lowry, who is in year 19 in Philadelphia. It might mean that DeRozan will have to settle for being the third Raptor with his jersey retired, but he’s in no rush and has no expectations. 

It doesn’t require much reflection to understand what it would mean to him though. 

“For me,” DeRozan said. “When the time comes, if it do come, best believe,  I'm pretty sure I'll be up there crying like Vince.”