Masai Ujiri dishes on first encounter with DeMar DeRozan after the big trade

There was a lot to unpack from Masai Ujiri’s end-of-season press conference on Tuesday morning.

After his Raptors won their first NBA championship in franchise history, the team’s president took some time to expound on the experience of the incredible season.

In between discussing contract talks with Kawhi Leonard and detailing an emotionally charged midseason meeting with Kyle Lowry, Ujiri shared the story of his first encounter with DeMar DeRozan after the blockbuster trade that sent him to San Antonio.

The Spurs were in town on a snowy day in February when Ujiri crossed paths with DeRozan at Scotiabank Arena.

“DeMar came into our locker room and... to show you the classy human being he is, he came up to me and he hugged me,” said Ujiri in the video above. “He asked me how my family was doing.

“It meant the world. I didn’t speak after that until I went home. I went home with this face and my wife asked me what was wrong.”

DeRozan, who spent nine seasons becoming a fan favourite north of the border, was understandably upset after the trade that sent two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to Toronto.

Shortly after the deal was complete, Ujiri said trading DeRozan was a very difficult decision for him to make. One year later, we’re getting an idea of just how tough the whole ordeal was for Ujiri.

“People don’t understand how hard that was for me. I had to walk around this hotel in Kenya for two hours at 4 a.m. just to sum up enough courage to call DeMar DeRozan. It’s not an easy thing, I still think about that.”

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