DeMar DeRozan: Raptors “most undoubtedly” would’ve received championship if I stayed

Former Toronto Raptors participant DeMar DeRozan not too long ago made an announcement that has followers and sports activities analysts alike speaking. DeRozan instructed that if he and former head coach Dwane Casey had stayed with the workforce, they might have received a championship.

DeRozan performed for the Raptors from 2009 to 2018 and led the workforce to the playoffs 5 occasions throughout his tenure. Nonetheless, the workforce was unable to make it previous the Japanese Convention Finals, and DeRozan was finally traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in 2018.

Leonard, who had beforehand received a championship with the San Antonio Spurs, proved to be a invaluable asset to the Raptors, main the workforce to their first-ever championship in 2019. Many followers and analysts credit score Leonard as the important thing to the workforce’s success that season.

Nonetheless, DeRozan believes that if he had stayed with the workforce, the end result would have been totally different. In a latest interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, DeRozan concurred with Smith’s assertion that the Raptors would have received a title if he and Casey had stayed in Toronto. DeRozan mentioned, “Most undoubtedly. Most undoubtedly. It sucks that we couldn’t see what might have occurred with me nonetheless being there that simply adjustments the entire dynamic and the whole lot. However I undoubtedly felt that.

“I congratulate all these guys for profitable that championship. Each man that I performed with, all people that was there, particularly that metropolis. They deserved it. We’d have did the identical factor.”

DeRozan’s feedback have sparked a debate amongst followers and analysts about whether or not or not the Raptors would have received a championship with him on the workforce. Some argue that Leonard’s management and talent have been instrumental within the workforce’s success, whereas others imagine that DeRozan’s presence on the workforce would have made a distinction.