DeMar DeRozan, now officially a member of the San Antonio Spurs, recently sat down with ESPN's Chris Hayne's for a 20+ minute interview in which the former Raptors All-Star spoke about the blockbuster trade and how the Raptors brass, including team president Masai Ujiri, assured him that he was not going to be traded.
During the conversation, DeRozan opened up about he confided in Toronto-native, and Raptors global ambassador, Drake on the day of the trade. In fact, shortly after learning of the unexpected trade, the 28-year old shooting guard said he went to Drake's house just to talk.
"The day it came out, I went to Drake's house," DeRozan told ESPN's Chris Haynes.
"Sat and talked for a couple hours, man. Not even on the hoops stuff, just my partner. Just to hear the words that come from him being the person that he is in this world, especially in Toronto. What I meant to the city -- it was what I needed."
You can check out the full interview in the video embedded below. DeRozan speaks about visiting Drake at the 18:00 mark.
Drake had taken to instagram after the deal to show love for DeRozan, who had spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Raptors. His IG post included the caption, "To my brother@demar_derozan I want to say 10 million thank you’s on behalf of YOUR city. You are a fixture in Toronto forever and you gave everything you had. Through your leadership we had the most exciting years in franchise history. I am grateful to have witnessed your combination of skill, persistence, and loyalty from the same seats every night. Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend."