Talk of DeMar DeRozan’s potential free agency has heated up this week, but the Raptors swingman says he only wants to play in Toronto.
The 26-year-old has an opt out clause in his contract after the season, and he is widely expected to exercise it to take advantage of the impending salary cap hike. The Toronto Sun reported on Thursday that the Lakers have “long had interest” in DeRozan; the swingman is from Compton and attended USC, and could be a long-term replacement for the retiring Kobe Bryant.
DeRozan, however, has a deep affinity for the team that drafted him, and he reasserted that on Friday morning when speaking to Toronto’s SportsNet 590 The Fan.
“That’s one you thing you can never question: my loyalty to the city,” DeRozan said, via Jeff Simmons of SportsNet. “How much I really love and appreciate the team and the organization. I think all the fans understand that. A lot of times they don’t understand how contracts or things like that. But I’ve always stressed that this is where I want to be my whole career.
“Since Day One in Toronto, I’ve been so prideful of the city and the country.”
All things being equal, DeRozan sounds like he’d prefer to stay in Toronto. He loves playing there, and the fans love him. If he really felt like he wanted to go elsewhere, I doubt he’d be so public in voicing his affection for the city and the organization. You’d expect that the two would be able to get something done.
