DeMar DeRozan opens up about getting traded from Toronto to San Antonio: "Knocked me to my f**king knees"

Getting traded away from Toronto impacted Deebo deeply.

© Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Trades are as commonplace in the NBA as dunks and three-pointers. It's a business, after all, and players are often moved from team to team in pursuit of better talent, salary cap management, or simply for the sake of change. 

But sometimes, these trades can have a deep impact on players, both personally and professionally. Such was the case for DeMar DeRozan, who was traded from his beloved Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs back in July 2018.

In an emotional talk with fellow NBA All-Star Draymond Green on the premier episode of his digital series entitled “Dinners with DeMar,” DeRozan opened up about his feelings following the trade.

Getting traded

The date was July 18, 2018—one that Deebo would never forget as it was the day he, big man Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick (which the Spurs used to pick Keldon Johnson) were sent to San Antonio for All-Star wingman Kawhi Leonard and “3-and-D” guy, Danny Green.

Spurs have agree to trade Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN. Trade call with league office is starting shortly.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2018

After spending the first nine seasons of his career in the “Great White North” and enduring numerous triumphs and heartbreaks—mostly at the hands of LeBron James—DeRozan was floored by the news that he was being traded to the Spurs, saying the move “knocked me to my f**king knees of a place I thought I would be forever. The feeling that I felt was I can’t even explain it to this day.”

Put him on a dark path

DeRozan relayed that after that trade, he spent three years trying to piece things together. That coupled with his father’s sickness and untimely passing, brought him to a dark place, mentally and emotionally.

“It put me in an element of three years of trying to search and find myself from a basketball perspective, feeling like you know, the doubt creep in, questioning yourself how much longer this gon’ be getting caught up in the narrative of the ‘sports’ people experts wanting to put out,” DeRozan told Green.

Deebo played three seasons in San Antonio before moving to Chicago in 2021. DeRozan has since championed mental health awareness, becoming an advocate for those who struggle with their mental well-being.

1st episode of “Dinners With DeMar” is out now. Thank you to @Money23Green for being a part of this first episode. Originally filmed in July 2022.

🎥 https://t.co/ztilaRUnO1 pic.twitter.com/ajcnFVwJQ6

— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) February 21, 2024

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