“According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, the Toronto Raptors have traded DeRozan along with power forward Jakob Poeltl and a top-20 protected 2019 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs in a blockbuster deal for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
David Aldridge of TNT reported DeRozan is “extremely upset” and is “not backing off of [a] claim he was lied to by Toronto regarding a potential trade.”
Via Bleacher Report: Derozan Extremely Upset After Kawhi Trade
Please forgive me as I step on my soapbox for a second:
THIS is yet another example of why I’m 100% in favor of player freedom. Here is a player under contract to an organization to provide a service (playing basketball) for an agreed upon amount of money. Cool, but here’s the problem:
You’re not dealing with an inanimate object or purely a product, it’s a PERSON…with a family, and interests outside of that sport. As a part of the inevitable personal connection that develops as a part of that working relationship, said player is “promised” that his contract to play basketball would not be dealt to another franchise…mere days later, that exact thing happens…an event in which that player has no say, no option, no power. Now of course, you could say “it’s not THAT bad, you’re just getting paid a fortune by a different organization” but irregardless, your career was just drastically affected by forces you have no control over. Success in any working environment comes from a delicate combination of factors and conditions and every person should seek the environment that they feel is in their best interest.
THIS is why whenever a player (Lebron, KD, Boogie, et al) makes a decision to exercise their right to play for a different team after fulfilling the obligations of their contractual agreement, I’m ALL for it…because it’s the individual making a decision that is in the best interest of them and their family. Yes, I know it’s a business and not personal for the organization, but it IS personal for the player…so they should ALWAYS act in the best interest of their own business and life, regardless of fan opinions and media perspectives.
Loyalty is always applauded when displayed by a player but never criticized when absent in the actions of a team. As Hov said, “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city”.
Rant over.
