Bulls' DeMar DeRozan thinks he could have won a ring with 2019 Raptors
DeMar DeRozan thinks he could have won a ring with 2019 Raptors originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
DeMar DeRozan had his chance in Toronto, but not in 2019.
Before the Raptors' championship run began, they traded DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
Leonard would ultimately help them to their first NBA championship, not DeRozan.
But what if DeRozan remained on that 2019 Raptors team? Would he have led them the way Leonard did for their first-ever championship?
"It sucks that we couldn't see what happened," DeRozan told Stephen A. Smith. "With me still being there, it changes the whole dynamic and everything. But I definitely felt that way. I congratulated all of those guys for winning that championship; every guy that I played with. That country, that city, they deserved it.
"But I definitely think, we would've done the same thing."
DeRozan played nine seasons with the Raptors, earning three straight All-Star nods in his final years in Toronto.
He and head coach DeWayne Casey led the Raptors to five straight playoff berths, yet never the NBA Finals. They made it as far as the conference finals during the 2015-16 season, but did not succeed.
In turn, the Raptors took their franchise a different route, bringing in the venerable, hard-nosed, two-way juggernaut in Leonard. Ultimately, it proved to be the correct move. Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet helped the Raptors to their first championship.
And DeRozan was left to watch in San Antonio.
He's still without a ring but continues on his quest for a championship. Now on the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan has earned two straight All-Star nods. He is extension eligible with the club this summer, but his and everyone's future on the team seems tenuous at this time.
Could DeRozan have won a ring with the 2019 Raptors? And will he ever grace the NBA's most prized possession on his finger?
