{"id":16415,"date":"2018-07-21T12:40:46","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T16:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=16415"},"modified":"2018-07-21T12:40:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T16:40:44","slug":"trading-demar-derozan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2018\/07\/21\/trading-demar-derozan\/","title":{"rendered":"Trading DeMar DeRozan Was the Smart Move For Toronto Raptors"},"content":{"rendered":"

DeMar DeRozan<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>gave the city Toronto his everything. He is also arguably the first star player to commit long-term\u00a0with the Toronto Raptors<\/a>. He was the face of the franchise. His Compton background and attitude were beloved by fans across the country of Canada.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the leadership and talent of DeRozan (and company), the last five years have been the best five-year stretch\u00a0in franchise history. A run that has seen the Raptors make an Eastern Conference\u00a0Finals for the first time and win four playoff series (after winning just one playoff series in the teams first 18 years of existence).<\/p>\n

Even so, Toronto’s decision to trade DeRozan on Wednesday was the smart one, all things considered. Let’s examine why.<\/p>\n

Trading DeMar DeRozan Was the Right Move For the Toronto Raptors<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Trade<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Wednesday, the Raptors decided to move on from the DeRozan era. They sent him,\u00a0Jakob Poeltl<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>and a protected first-round pick in 2019 to the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> for Kawhi Leonard<\/a> <\/strong>and Danny Green<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One would think that with LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> out of the picture in the Eastern Conference that this would be the chance\u00a0for the Raptors to take over the East. As a matter of fact, the Raptors have won their last four playoffs series against teams that aren’t the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But with the emergence of the Boston Celtics<\/a> and Philadelphia 76ers,<\/a> it was clear that the duo of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong> wasn’t\u00a0going to be good enough.<\/p>\n

Although DeRozan has helped lead the Raptors to regular\u00a0season success, his game has struggled to translate in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Tim Micallef<\/strong> of Sportsnet’s Tim and Sid<\/em> pointed this out on Twitter Wednesday afternoon:<\/p>\n

\n

Separating passion from facts…here is why DeMar DeRozan was dealt:<\/p>\n

1) Over the last 5 seasons…DeRozan's numbers in PPG, RPG, FG%, 3PT%, APG, and PER…ALL went down in the playoffs. <\/p>\n

2) DeRozan's salary next 3 seasons: 2018-19: $27.7M, 2019-20: $27.7M, 2020-21: $27.7M<\/p>\n

— Tim Micallef (@tim_micallef) July 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n