The Toronto Raptors’ trade of DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poetl and a pick for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green surprised many, including DeRozan himself, but his exit from Toronto has gone better than some players’ departures. For example, one upset fan looked to be set for a jersey burning, but then shared notes criticizing the team’s management instead:
Raptors fans know it wasn’t DeMar’s fault 🙃 (submitted by @zachreid._) pic.twitter.com/6AP23RE9JJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 18, 2018
And in slightly more famous circles, Raptors’ global ambassador Drake weighed in with an Instagram post thanking DeRozan for his contributions to the franchise:
There are plenty not so thrilled about the Raptors’ trade of a long-time key player in DeRozan, including other NBA players, but it’s nice to see some fan reaction that isn’t going after him (especially in this case, where he’d expressed a desire to stay and was traded anyway). And it’s a refreshing change from some of the often-seen reaction villainizing players on their way out of town.