Longtime Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is still pulling for his former squad, despite how upset he was when the organization traded him to the San Antonio Spurs last Summer.
During a recent appearance on ESPN's The Jump, Kyle Lowry explained that he still talks to DeRozan everyday and that he truly wants the Raptors to win a ring. Lowry, who played alongside DeRozan for six straight seasons, says:
"DeMar is definitely a big part of what we built here. All the guys he has relationships with, he still texts us. He wants us to be successful, he wants us to win a ring."
Ahead of Toronto's first-ever NBA Finals game, Lowry also sat down for an interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated, in which the 33-year old veteran further described how happy DeRozan is for the Raptors.
Per The Undefeated:
Lowry: “I’ve been speaking to him the whole way. One thing about him is that he legit cares about me as his best friend. He has texted everyone he has a relationship with and let them know how happy he is for us.”
Do you remember your emotions at the start of the season after the changes were made to the team?
Lowry: “It was strictly business. All business. That’s where my emotions were. I didn’t care about the business other than strictly being a basketball player. I didn’t care about being friends with anybody. I didn’t care about this or that. I just legit cared about coming in here and being the best player I could be because everyone was saying, ‘He is not going to do this. He is not going to do that.’ My job was to prove them wrong.”
When did that mentality change?
Lowry: “It was always still going to be a business. But I was like, ‘Look, if you’re going to be here, just buy in and do what you need to do to help the team win.’ And that means a lot. I was bought-in from the [beginning]. But I kind of really shelled off. I was going to come in here and prove a point. People didn’t think I could be the same player that I was.”