Raptors president apologizes to DeRozan
TORONTO — Raptors president Masai Ujiri apologized Friday (Saturday, PHL time) for a “miscommunication” with four-timeAll-Star and franchise icon DeMar DeRozan, but Toronto’s traded All-Star guard didn’t seem quite ready to make amends.
Speaking for the first time since sending DeRozan to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard, Ujiri began by saying sorry to DeRozan. The career Raptor had expressed anger and frustration in an Instagram post after learning of the deal, indicating he’d been told he would not be traded.
Shortly after Ujiri apologized Friday (Saturday in Manila), DeRozan added a new post to his Instagram feed: a facepalm emoji, a symbol of frustration and exasperation.
Reflecting on a conversation he’d had with DeRozan at Summer League earlier this month, Ujiri said he “should have handled it better” when discussing future plans.
“Maybe my mistake was talking about what we expected going forward from him,” Ujiri said. “I think that’s where the gap was, because in my job I always have to assume that I’m going forward with the team that I have. If there was a miscommunication there, I do apologize to DeMar.”
Still, after three straight disappointing playoff exits, Ujiri felt something needed to change with the Raptors. He acknowledged struggling with the “human side” of the trade, but decided Leonard was too good a prize to pass up.
Now, Ujiri says, the Raptors “are stepping on territory that we never have.”