Dwane Casey's advice to DeMar DeRozan ahead of Toronto return

After spending seven seasons together in Toronto, this past summer saw DeMar DeRozan end up in San Antonio and Dwane Casey in Detroit. While Casey has already made his return to Toronto, DeRozan will make his highly-anticipated return Friday night.

Casey joined TSN OverDrive and shared some advice for DeRozan ahead of the big night every Raptors fan has circled on their calendars.

“It’s difficult because first of all you’re going back into an arena where you’re going into a different locker room, a locker room you’ve probably never been in that many times only to visit friends and going in a different entrance but you see the same people, so it’s a different emotion, different feeling,” said Casey.

Unlike the superstars that came before him, DeRozan made it clear that he wanted to finish his career in Toronto, which made his shocking exit this summer that much harder to stomach — not only for DeRozan, but for is former coach as well.

“That young man, you know, right, wrong and different, he started the whole thing, the stretch of basketball the team is having right now, he started it, and he’s the only star player who decided to stay there, so it was hard to grasp and hold onto.

“He decided to stay when he had choices to go to other places so my hat is off to him because he had many opportunities to leave, a couple opportunities to leave, and not like a lot of guys who had been there he decided to stay and didn’t try to force his way out or talk his way out, he stayed and showed loyalty to the country of Canada and the fans of Toronto,” said Casey.

DeRozan, who dropped his first career triple-double against the Raptors earlier this season in San Antonio, is excited to see the reception he gets from the fans in Toronto.

“I’ve watched certain shows with certain introductions, with certain people, when they get that long standing ovation. I always thought that was the coolest thing in the world,” said DeRozan. “I’ve never received one, so if it’s one of them long standing ovations, it’s definitely going to be overwhelming, I’m looking forward to it, to feeling the love.”

Friday night will be an emotional one for the Raptors’ all-time leading scorer and for Raptors fans, and you can guarantee he’s going to feel the love.

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