NBA veteran DeMar DeRozan recently peeled back the curtain on one of the most emotional nights of his career during an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay.
Back in the summer of 2018, DeRozan was the face of the Toronto Raptors, a loyal star who had poured nearly a decade into the franchise. So when he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a blockbuster deal for Kawhi Leonard, the news hit him like a freight train.
“I get traded from Toronto in the middle of the night,” DeRozan recalled. “I’m sick. I’m hot. I’m walking down the street. I’m sitting in a f***ing fast food parking lot.”
It was the kind of moment that strips away the glitz of the NBA and reveals the human behind the jersey. Alone and stunned, DeRozan made two phone calls: first to longtime teammate Kyle Lowry, and then to Rudy Gay, who had signed with the Spurs the year prior.
“I called this motherf***er,” DeRozan said, referring to Gay. “I said, ‘Yeah, bro. These n****s just traded me.’” Gay’s response? A burst of laughter.
“HAHAHA,” Gay reportedly said, catching DeRozan completely off guard.
“What the f***, man?” DeRozan exclaimed, still bewildered by the reaction.
Rudy Gay reacts to DeMar DeRozan getting traded pic.twitter.com/3vJ68QKAAt
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) July 24, 2025
Though the Raptors went on to win the championship that season, DeRozan’s journey didn’t end in bitterness. He spent three seasons with the Spurs, continued to evolve as a player.
