The truth is, there is nothing wrong with DeMar DeRozan feeling as though he was wronged. To think otherwise you'd have to be complete sociopath, as it would require a complete unfamiliarity with how long-term relationships work, be they personal or professional. The NBA is a business, and a cutthroat one at that. Still, not being able to see why the face of a franchise wouldn't take kindly to being misled to his face by said franchise just prior to a decision that altered his life requires an abjectly inhumane view on the type of high-level competition that both encourages and thrives off of emotional investments. The virtues of loyalty are fundamentally impractical to uphold in professional sports, but that doesn't mean they aren't celebrated ad nauseam by those that are most likely to ignore them when push comes to shove. Unfortunately, while agreeing that Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors handled the break-up poorly, it's important to note that it would have been impossible to handle it perfectly. Midnight phone calls are inherently disrespectful so one that's meant to deliver devastatingly unexpected news was particularly poorly timed. However, was there really any truly "respectful" way to tell DeMar DeRozan he was being traded for a malcontent on an expiring contract because the organization under which he worked his ass off to grow exponentially as both a player and team leader came to the conclusion that he just wasn't good enough? Considering the phone in question belonged to someone who embraced an underrated city more so than any star player that came before him, that call would have been shock to the system no matter how, why, or when it was received. I suppose it would be nice if he were given some indication that it might be coming, but what wouldn't have been nice is trying to smooth things over in training camp had the best player on the roster felt unwanted by a potential trade that never went through. In seeing things from DeMar DeRozan's perspective, I'm inclined to agree that the Raptors went about things the wrong way. The problem is that, in seeing things from a neutral perspective, it becomes pretty damn difficult to think up the right way to cut a tie that was pulled as tightly as the one that bonded DeMar DeRozan and the city of Toronto for the last nine years. For that reason, I'm not so sure it's blame that should be directed at Masai Ujiri, as much as it is the type of resentment that results from almost all instances in which one party is essentially telling another that they can do better. That band-aid getting ripped off was going to sting regardless, even if the wounded person wishes it was done differently in retrospect.
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