It was the trade that shook the basketball world over the summer when DeMar DeRozan and Kawhi Leonard were the huge pieces involved in a deal between the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors.
They left under very different terms. Kawhi was disgruntled with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and other aspects of the team, while meanwhile DeRozan – intensely loyal to the Toronto Raptors – was blindsided and hurt by the only team he knew sending him out of the North.
While they left in very different ways, they likely had the same desire for revenge against their old team. The circled date was Thursday, January 3rd, and it marked Kawhi’s return to the Lone Star State. Not to be forgotten, it also marked the return of Danny Green who was also involved in the deal.
Leonard and Green got very different receptions when they took the court. Green, a hero’s welcome. Kawhi, a villain’s welcome.
It will be interesting to see how DeMar is received when he returns to Toronto on February 22, but it’s hard to imagine he would get booed. While Raps fans may have warmed up to the trade that was originally met with a lot of backlash, it still leaves them with a lot of heartache to see DeRozan blindsided the way he was.
(H/T Twitter/SportsCenter)
