DeMar DeRozan Says He'd Only Return to the Raptors if Kyle Lowry Was Still There

DeMar DeRozan didn't even hesitate. When asked what it would take to bring him back to the Toronto Raptors, his answer was clear and concise: Kyle Lowry.

It was never going to happen this past offseason when Toronto seemed intent to turn the page on the Lowry era and move into the next generation of Raptors basketball. While DeRozan strongly considered signing with the Los Angeles Clippers before inking a long-term deal with the Chicago Bulls, the Raptors were never really an option. But, for a moment at least, Raptors fans can dream.

Had Toronto kept Lowry around, DeRozan told Serge Ibaka on the latest episode of How Hungry Are You? that he wouldn't have ruled out returning to the Raptors. But without his former running mate, the 32-year-old fringe MVP candidate said he's turned the page and happy to support his former teammates from afar.

"I think I told one of those guys too. That's their team now. My history there is stamped and sealed and it started with me and Kyle," DeRozan said. "That's the only person that I want to keep it rolling with. I wouldn't feel like myself if I went back trying to be like I was. They earned everything they have there. They earned to be the starters, to be the face of the franchise. That's the deal and I love rooting for them elsewhere."

Even after everything that happened in 2018 when DeRozan was shockingly flipped to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard en route to Toronto's first NBA championship, the Bulls forward still has a soft spot for the Raptors and Raptors fans who he said are better than fans in the United States.

"The passion, the energy, the excitement that the fans bring in Canada is something I still haven't witnessed yet," DeRozan said.

If there was one thing that clearly frustrated DeRozan about his time in Toronto, it was Ibaka's lengthy post-game ritual. He joked with the former Raptors big about how long he took to get ready after the game, go through his stretches, post-game workout, and exfoliation routine.

"You always was the last person in the locker room to get dressed, to do media, to do the ice tub, to get treatment, to get on the plane. You always was the last person to do everything," DeRozan said. "That's not you being a pro. You was being slow."

Maybe if Toronto ever does get the band back together, they'll do it without Ibaka just to keep things moving a little bit quicker this time around.

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