DeMar DeRozan was just a simple kid from Compton when he was drafted to Toronto in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Gang violence and death were all around him during his childhood and if a desk next to him at school was empty for too long, nothing needed to be said.
Leaving all of that behind, the Raptors gave DeRozan a guarantee that if he was the number nine pick, the franchise would draft him.
DeRozan explains the wild turn of events that ensued because he’d never left the US before.
“So I had to go sit my ass down at the federal building and get a passport a couple of days before the draft,” DeRozan said on Podcast P with Paul George.
“That’s how it worked out. I didn’t have a passport, nothin’ and the crazy thing – my whole first year I was by myself because nobody in my family had a fu*king passport.”
In that first year, DeRozan averaged 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 77 games.
The basketball court wasn’t the only place he was a rookie.
“Wintertime comin’ round, I’m wearing chucks in the snow,” DeRozan continued.
“Bro it was crazy.
“I was still eating gyros off the fu*king side of the street, that was my dinner.
“I was thuggin’ it. That’s for real…I didn’t know…My first couple of years in the league, everything is such first that nothing somebody could tell you could prepare you for it.
“You gotta go through it. You know what I mean?
“And those moments for me was everything, honestly.”
When the Raptors drafted DeMar, he was a one-year college player from USC who had just turned 20 years old.
Now, he is a six-time All-Star and is one of the most clutch players in the league playing for Chicago.
The Heat were interested in Bradley Beal but now he has been traded to the Suns, all eyes are on Miami to see whether they secure Dame’s services.
“Miami’s focus is Portland superstar Damian Lillard with the genuine belief this could be the offseason the veteran guard seeks a change of scenery, league sources tell @NBAonTNT @BleacherReport,” Chris Haynes tweeted on Sunday.
Another Insider, Heat Beat reporter Ira Winderman, reported that the franchise are indeed looking to land a superstar.
“Asked about the Heat’s approach with Beal, a party familiar with the talks on Sunday told the South Florida Sun Sentinel to “think bigger”,” Winderman wrote.
“Lillard would be bigger, but unlike Beal has yet to hit the trade market.”
Trade chips on the Heat’s end include the expiring $29.7 million salary of guard Kyle Lowry, as well as the contracts of Victor Oladipo and Duncan Robinson.
The Heat refused to include guard Tyler Herro in a package for Beal, but Beal is no Lillard.
Adding Herro to a deal for Dame could certainly help get a trade across the line. Herro’s salary can be used in a trade starting on July 1.
There has yet to be any news from Lillard’s camp on whether he will request a trade away from Portland.
There has yet to be any news from Lillard’s camp on whether he will request a trade away from Portland.
Things will be made more clear come draft day as the Blazers will need to decide whether they keep their number three draft pick, or use it to get Lillard a win-now team.
If they do decide to keep their pick, likely to be Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, Lillard has made it clear he won’t be waiting around for any young players to develop.
Even Dame himself said recently that if he was to switch teams, Miami would be his preference.
The Battle for The Number Two Draft Pick – Who Will Prevail?
The NBA Draft is just days away and things are heating up, especially between Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson, who are vying for the number two spot.
The Hornets have the number two draft pick and are at odds about who they should bet their future on.
“The Charlotte Hornets are expecting to conduct a second-round of workouts and interviews with Alabama’s Brandon Miller and G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson on Monday — with an audience that will include outgoing owner Michael Jordan…” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony said.
“Miller remains the front-runner to go No. 2, but Henderson had a strong workout and meeting with Hornets officials last week, sources told ESPN.”
Even though MJ just sold his stake in the Hornets franchise for a whopping $3 billion, he will remain a minority stake and presence.
Both players are keen to be drafted in Charlotte as they hail from the South and are excited about the future direction of the franchise with a new ownership group.
Miller as the favorite is likely due to him being more suited to jell alongside LaMelo Ball, with his 38.4 percent shooting from three.
Many in the NBA world have compared the sharpshooting wing to Paul George, which Miller agrees is fitting.
“I think I compare myself to Paul George a lot due to the fact he takes pride in the defensive side,” Miller told Hoops Hype in late May. “I steal some of his moves and put my own twist to it.”
As for Scoot, the G League graduate is keen to make his mark on the league and is being mentored by the best three-point shooter of all time, Steph Curry.
The G League guard has drawn comparisons to Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook but when asked about this earlier in the year Scoot said, “No, I want to have my own career…I want to go down my own path.”
If Miller is picked over Henderson, Portland have the third pick so Scoot will likely be drafted there.
But it remains to be seen whether he will become trade bait to build a win-now team around Damian Lillard, or if the Blazers are prepared to see Dame walk.
