First and foremost I want to say that I feel bad for DeRozan and how the trade went down from his perspective. What he has done for the Raptors certainly earned him the courtesy of being told he was going to be traded if that was possible. I can totally see why he would feel disrespected and lied to even though I think the scenario by which the trade happened probably didn't allow him to be told he was about to be traded.
Woj said this in an interview a few months back:
“One thing about Masai Ujiri: He has never been afraid to talk about his star players in trade talks,” Wojnarowski said. “He’s not going to tell you anybody’s untouchable, and teams around the league know that. So they’ll talk about almost anything with this roster.”
Woj doesn't say things that aren't true these days. There is no way that the players and agents are not aware of this. It isn't to suggest Masai was actively trying to move anyone but simply that anyone could be traded if the right deal came along.
Based on what Masai and DeMar have said, DeMar was at least aware that his name had come up in trade discussion this summer. At the time he and Masai spoke in summer league he was told that he was not being traded (not to say he was promised he would not be traded) and there was nothing imminent (which again suggests his name had been discussed). That could have been 100% true; Masai said they were 4th or something with respect to teams making offers to the Spurs. It isn't unreasonable that the Raptors didn't think they were out of the running for Kawhi.
Information from Danny Green's podcast suggests that that agreement on the trade came together quickly. Green said that in a previous season he was told by the Spurs that if they signed KD he might be traded (I'm paraphrasing) but that he was blindsided by this trade. Did the Spurs suddenly decide to be jerks about it or more likely did they not have the opportunity to tell Green he was about to be traded? I think it is obviously the latter. Moreover, when the Raptors had agreed to trade Lowry to the Knicks Kyle never said anything about being surprised by the trade. He had his bags packed and ready to go and thought it was a done deal. I think if he was blindsided it would have come out and/or he would have been pissed and certainly not re-sign here.
If the Raptors thought they were out of the trade discussions but then Buford calls to accept an offer previously discussed, or makes an offer Masai can't refuse, there is no opportunity for either executive to tell their players that they are about to be traded. It sucks for the players and the teams because neither wants the relationship to end in that way.
I'm just tired of this whole discussion about DeMar being lied to. Is it so hard to see a scenario where he feels lied to but the team didn't actually lie to him? It's not something sinister like they told him he wasn't being traded at summer league but at the same time Masai had his blackberry behind his back texting Buford at the same time.
