Demar Vents Frustration About Loyalty

[BramptonYute]

So people think that the best thing to do in this situstion is tell a player that he is on the verge of being traded even before a deal has been completed? What if the deal falls through? Now you have a player who knows he was on the way out playing for you....

And all you fan boys would still find a way to spin that story into a lack of loyalty and if Demar ends up playing bad you all would be blaming it on the fact that it's because demar is butt hurt about almost being traded. There's literally no win to this situstion in your eyes.

Teams and organizations are always looking to make moves to get better.... It's always been this way.. Why the **** are people acting like th is is the first time in history a guy has been traded before... Its honestly so pathetic listening to how thecmedpia has spun this. And it's even worse that fans of t he tram are eating it up. Im actually finally excited about the product that s about to be put in the floor... We actually now have the best shotr at a titlem.. And instead all you fanboys s keep crying about is loyalty...

It seems at the end of the day it was never about winning with most fans it was just about riding with their favourite player come hell or high water while pretending to actually give a sh it about the team. If it was jv or Lowry that got shipped out instead you all would be ecstatic at t he brilliance of Masai and the balls he has... Except Masai isn't an idiot and he knows the real reasons for this teams success and made the right move to actually get better. He didn't make the fan boy move and wasn't delusionally invested in an impact neutral player. He understands the real issues with the team and he fixed them.

You dont have to tell him he'll be traded. You could easily say, "everything is still on the table". Theres no need to make it black and white, like the Raptors did.

There was absolutely no reason to tell demar he wont be traded.

Im with you, its all about winning. I dont have a problem at all with trading Demar. Just dont reassure a guy he wont be traded, only to trade him days later.

[Boogie!]

So people think that the best thing to do in this situstion is tell a player that he is on the verge of being traded even before a deal has been completed? What if the deal falls through? Now you have a player who knows he was on the way out playing for you....

And all you fan boys would still find a way to spin that story into a lack of loyalty and if Demar ends up playing bad you all would be blaming it on the fact that it's because demar is butt hurt about almost being traded. There's literally no win to this situstion in your eyes.

Teams and organizations are always looking to make moves to get better.... It's always been this way.. Why the **** are people acting like th is is the first time in history a guy has been traded before... Its honestly so pathetic listening to how thecmedpia has spun this. And it's even worse that fans of t he tram are eating it up. Im actually finally excited about the product that s about to be put in the floor... We actually now have the best shotr at a titlem.. And instead all you fanboys s keep crying about is loyalty...

It seems at the end of the day it was never about winning with most fans it was just about riding with their favourite player come hell or high water while pretending to actually give a sh it about the team. If it was jv or Lowry that got shipped out instead you all would be ecstatic at t he brilliance of Masai and the balls he has... Except Masai isn't an idiot and he knows the real reasons for this teams success and made the right move to actually get better. He didn't make the fan boy move and wasn't delusionally invested in an impact neutral player. He understands the real issues with the team and he fixed them.

You dont have to tell him he'll be traded. You could easily say, "everything is still on the table". Theres no need to make it black and white, like the Raptors did.

There was absolutely no reason to tell demar he wont be traded.

Im with you, its all about winning. I dont have a problem at all with trading Demar. Just dont reassure a guy he wont be traded, only to trade him days later.

So you want him to know that the team isn't fully invested in him either way? Also, you seem to know exactly how the conversation went down somehow... We're u there?

[Joker]

It always rubbed me the wrong way that Demar hoped/expected/assumed he'd play out his whole (15+ season?) career here. A little delusional, presumptuous on his part.

Having a 15+ year career with one franchise only is reserved for the HOF'ers. And Udonis Haslem. But I don't think Demar's cool with taking Udonis's minutes/role/salary.

To think that a franchise would keep you for your whole career, you better be on the level of Kobe, Dirk, Duncan or John Stockton. To a lesser degree, Reggie Miller and Manu Ginobili, but Miller is still a HOF'er and playoff legend, and Manu won 4 titles and is certainly going to the HOF.

The sad thing is there are loads of delusional people that actually believed it should happen.

These are the people that have been groomed by the media for the last 23 years. all they ever heard was

1) Raptors are irrelevant
2) when they are relevant, they still actually are failures
3) all the stars leave the raptors
4) if one star is going to NOT leave, omg we better "ride or die" with him no matter what, because he loves oh, oh god we just want to be loved so much

And perhaps this sentiment around the franchise is why Demar felt entitled, or at the very least, presumptuous, about having his whole career here.

[BramptonYute]

So you want him to know that the team isn't fully invested in him either way? Also, you seem to know exactly how the conversation went down somehow... We're u there?

Isnt the end of season press conference enough confirmation that the team wasnt fully invested in him? Lol

Im going off what Woj said

[MavCarter]

I'm almost certain they told DD at the beginning of SL that they weren't trading him because they genuinely didn't think anything would come to fruition. Maybe the spurs lowered their asking price the last couple of days and the raptors jumped on it. You think nurse would have done that interview challenging demars defense if he knew they were working on a trade? **** no he wouldn't do anything to mess with value. That interview was done 10 days ago

[Rhythm043]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

[BIG SCIENCE]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

That was his breakout year. Finals MVP. Before that he was under the radar.

[Rhythm043]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

That was his breakout year. Finals MVP. Before that he was under the radar.

I was aware of the finals MVP just to throw that out there. Lol.
If he can produce that 25ppg season again with exceptional D, and gets us the finals I'll agree with the label.

[Joker]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

League leaders in win shares/48 over Kawhi's last two full healthy seasons:
http://bkref.com/tiny/5EUqP

League leaders in PER over Kawhi's last two full healthy seasons:
http://bkref.com/tiny/bb6I7

League leaders in BPM over Kawhi's last two full healthy seasons:
http://bkref.com/tiny/F8cqh

Check out the names at the top of those lists, and see where Kawhi's name shows up as well.

[Joker]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

http://www.nba.com/history/awards/all-nba-team

Also check out the all-nba First teams for 2015-2016 and 2016-2017

[Steelo Green]

Still don't get how Kawai is a "superstar". Is it because he won a championship with that very good team. He only averaged like 15 per game the year they won. He's a great player ok but superstar? If this guy can't get us any further than DeMar I hope this superstar label is dropped. They basically dropped DeMar for nothing if this guy plays one year and bolts.

That was his breakout year. Finals MVP. Before that he was under the radar.

I was aware of the finals MVP just to throw that out there. Lol.
If he can produce that 25ppg season again with exceptional D, and gets us the finals I'll agree with the label.

He's a finals MVP.

He slowed down big-3 Lebron and won a title.

He was a superstar two years ago pre-injury when he was arguably MVP.

The player he has been has easily been s superstar. This is silly.

Demar has been historically one of the worst playoff performers of all time, literally even in comparison to bench players. If we ha shealrhy Kawhi against Cleveland and you think we're swept then you're wearing different coloured glasses than the actual world.

Demar won't start in the ASG in the West, Kawhi is the best player in the East.

[LastNameEver]

Raptors needed to handle shipping Demar out with kid gloves and they blew it.
No star will stay here past their second contract ever again..if we get so lucky.

Relax, it's not that serious. The same way Lebron would never return to the cavs after the owner bashed him and his family ? Raptor fans are drama queens I swear. At least lets hear the organization side of the story. Maybe they're typing a thank you letter as we speak.

Sports agents/agencies are making a note of this. You can guarantee that.

[COY0607]

So people think that the best thing to do in this situstion is tell a player that he is on the verge of being traded even before a deal has been completed? What if the deal falls through? Now you have a player who knows he was on the way out playing for you....

And all you fan boys would still find a way to spin that story into a lack of loyalty and if Demar ends up playing bad you all would be blaming it on the fact that it's because demar is butt hurt about almost being traded. There's literally no win to this situstion in your eyes.

Teams and organizations are always looking to make moves to get better.... It's always been this way.. Why the **** are people acting like th is is the first time in history a guy has been traded before... Its honestly so pathetic listening to how thecmedpia has spun this. And it's even worse that fans of t he tram are eating it up. Im actually finally excited about the product that s about to be put in the floor... We actually now have the best shotr at a titlem.. And instead all you fanboys s keep crying about is loyalty...

It seems at the end of the day it was never about winning with most fans it was just about riding with their favourite player come hell or high water while pretending to actually give a sh it about the team. If it was jv or Lowry that got shipped out instead you all would be ecstatic at t he brilliance of Masai and the balls he has... Except Masai isn't an idiot and he knows the real reasons for this teams success and made the right move to actually get better. He didn't make the fan boy move and wasn't delusionally invested in an impact neutral player. He understands the real issues with the team and he fixed them.

You dont have to tell him he'll be traded. You could easily say, "everything is still on the table". Theres no need to make it black and white, like the Raptors did.

There was absolutely no reason to tell demar he wont be traded.

Im with you, its all about winning. I dont have a problem at all with trading Demar. Just dont reassure a guy he wont be traded, only to trade him days later.

We still haven't heard Masai's side of the story have we?

We don't know exactly what he said. Just because he's taking the high road and keeping quiet doesn't mean he gave guarantees to Demar that he wouldn't be traded

This is being blown way out of proportion

And Ryan Hollins is a scrub

[Raps Next GM]

I can certainly appreciate DeMar feeling hurt but the league-wide reaction to this “betrayal” has me surprised.
Why aren’t Liliard, Lou Will, Kanter, Barnes, etc. calling out a fellow player in Kawhi? It was his “disloyalty” that forced all of this to begin with.
I say this as someone who completely defends players exercising their rights as free agents to do what’s best for themselves. But this garbage about DeMar being done wrong is silly. The Raptors dealt him for a superior player, not for a whole lot of “nothing”. The franchise demonstrated their appreciation to him in over 20 million way$ last season.
It’s wonderful that he didn’t take meetings with other teams as a free agent, but he didn’t sign at a discount either.
I’ll be interested to hear Ujiri’s side of the conversation in which DeMar was assured that he wasn’t going anywhere. I find it hard to believe that it would be that direct: “We are absolutely not trading you!”
My guess is it would be more vague along the lines of “there’s nothing going on right now, so we expect you to be a Raptor next season” which certainly could have been true at that time.

[MEDIC]

I can certainly appreciate DeMar feeling hurt but the league-wide reaction to this “betrayal” has me surprised.
Why aren’t Liliard, Lou Will, Kanter, Barnes, etc. calling out a fellow player in Kawhi? It was his “disloyalty” that forced all of this to begin with.
I say this as someone who completely defends players exercising their rights as free agents to do what’s best for themselves. But this garbage about DeMar being done wrong is silly. The Raptors dealt him for a superior player, not for a whole lot of “nothing”. The franchise demonstrated their appreciation to him in over 20 million way$ last season.
It’s wonderful that he didn’t take meetings with other teams as a free agent, but he didn’t sign at a discount either.
I’ll be interested to hear Ujiri’s side of the conversation in which DeMar was assured that he wasn’t going anywhere. I find it hard to believe that it would be that direct: “We are absolutely not trading you!”
My guess is it would be more vague along the lines of “there’s nothing going on right now, so we expect you to be a Raptor next season” which certainly could have been true at that time.

Why isn't LBJ being labelled as a deserter after jumping ship from his "hometown" Cleveland again?

[Rhythm043]

This trade was dumb by the raptors it’s a one year rental and you traded the most loyal player you’re going to get to try to get through the east to just come up against the warriors in the finals. This is just ridiculous. Will never see a guy like DeMar in this city again.

[VinBaker6]

How on Earth are you guys killing DeMar for being in his feelings? The Raptors have him everything, he didn't ask for it. They made him the number 1 option when he wasn't worthy, again he never asked for that. He got comfortable with that. It's human man.

Why do Raptor fans always gotta kill guys who leave? WE GOT KAWHI **** LEONARD, WE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING IN THE STREETS.

Yet y'all wanna spend your time dumping on DeMar. Raptor fans confuse me man.

Cause these players **** on the franchise when they do it. Carroll did it. Bosh did it. DD is doing it.

LMAOOOOOO what did DeMar say that's even remotely comparable to those guys? That there's no loyalty? That's just a fact lol

[Raps Next GM]

This trade was dumb by the raptors it’s a one year rental and you traded the most loyal player you’re going to get to try to get through the east to just come up against the warriors in the finals. This is just ridiculous. Will never see a guy like DeMar in this city again.

Could not disagree more. Aside from the emotional aspect of losing DeRozan, this was an amazing trade!
Raps get the better player: DeRozan is a Corvette; Leonard is a Ferrari.
They didn’t part with either of their two best prospects in O.G. or Siakam.
The draft pick is protected 1-20!

Even if Leonard leaves, they can transition into a rebuild without DeRozan’a contract which has value in that alone.
The Raptors would never get a meeting with a top-5 player as a free agent, so they acquired a year-long meeting with him to try to convince him to sign long-term.
It was not only a good trade, it’s a no-brainer that sets the team up for a better future with or without Kawhi beyond next season.

[Courtside]

This trade was dumb by the raptors it’s a one year rental and you traded the most loyal player you’re going to get to try to get through the east to just come up against the warriors in the finals. This is just ridiculous. Will never see a guy like DeMar in this city again.

God, I hope not.

[Chandan]

It always rubbed me the wrong way that Demar hoped/expected/assumed he'd play out his whole (15+ season?) career here. A little delusional, presumptuous on his part.

Having a 15+ year career with one franchise only is reserved for the HOF'ers. And Udonis Haslem. But I don't think Demar's cool with taking Udonis's minutes/role/salary.

To think that a franchise would keep you for your whole career, you better be on the level of Kobe, Dirk, Duncan or John Stockton. To a lesser degree, Reggie Miller and Manu Ginobili, but Miller is still a HOF'er and playoff legend, and Manu won 4 titles and is certainly going to the HOF. Is Demar seriously putting himself in that class of player??

I share a similar sentiment. I personally don't fault him for having aspiration to be a legend, even given his natural talent, it's his right to wanting to be a all time great. After all, Rome wasn't built in one day.

However, the thing that rubbed me the wrong way is that from day one the rhetoric has always been: He can become the greatest player of a franchise because he plays in Toronto. It's like seizing an empty throne.
There is no simplier path to becoming a great because the recipe was already set: just play his entire career north of the border and say all the right things and he will be Maple Jordan.

Even now, most of the praise we get from the appreciation thread is that he is classy, he is a nice guy, he embraced the city, he was loyal... Seldom you will hear how great he played for us and what a great player he was.