At this point, Spurs fans have heard enough of DeMar DeRozan detailing his feelings about being traded from Toronto to San Antonio that they can relate the details themselves. He doesn’t shy away from sharing how he felt about the situation and how much it affected him. He wanted to stay with the Raptors for his entire career, and this trade came as a shock to him.
He spoke about it again on the Club 520 podcast with Jeff Teague and his co-hosts, expressing how upset he was about the whole situation until he got a call from Coach Pop. Popovich, known for his ability to connect with players, essentially told DeRozan that the Spurs had traded him; they hadn’t traded him. Those words helped DeRozan understand that he was still wanted and eased his transition to the Silver and Black.
He goes into more detail about how Pop helped his game evolve, but when they changed the subject to Victor Wembanyama, he had a funny story to tell.
DeMar DeRozan on the Wembanyama pitch
(via @club520podcast) pic.twitter.com/gCLe1fAJgh
— Jah (@JahlilWill) August 28, 2024
Here are the actions that make Spurs fans laugh when they watch the games. It’s very easy to spot these events in real time when you watch Wemby play. Most fans have watched basketball long enough to know when a player is making a business decision to avoid the risk of embarrassment. Not to mention, it’s not a smart strategy to challenge a player with Wembanyama’s blocking ability without a solid plan of attack.
San Antonio hasn’t had a respectable shot blocker since Tim Duncan retired, and even he hasn’t impacted offenses like this. Over the years, they’ve been on the other side, challenging players to the rim when they shouldn’t have.
Jaren Jackson Jr. comes to mind as a player who relentlessly denies baskets, but the Spurs were the ones to blame for reckless shots directly to his knees only to see the ball thrown the other way. There should have been more times they took the ball away at that point, but the Grizzlies players were probably glad they didn’t. It’s nice to have a guy which still has that kind of impact.
