Former Raptors star believes his team could have won the NBA title even without Kawhi Leonard

Former Toronto Raptors All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan made headlines Wednesday morning.

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Appearing on ESPN's First Take, DeRozan was asked by analyst Stephen A. Smith if the Raptors would have won the championship if they had not traded him for Kawhi Leonard before the 2018–19 season.

DeRozan didn't mince his words and said he was firmly convinced the outcome would have been the same.

“I definitely feel that way,” DeRozan said. “The only person we couldn't beat is LeBron [James]; that was it. I felt like we weren't good the year before; we just needed one more piece of the puzzle to move us up. That piece of the puzzle was LeBron going west. I didn't get a chance to see what was going to happen. I had the utmost confidence and I'm sure it would have turned out the same way.”

However, that was not the case. After years of deficits, the Raptors and their front office decided to pull the trigger and trade for superstar forward Kawhi Leonard. Leonard made his way to Canada and brought the team the first NBA title in franchise history.

It was a big gamble, as Leonard was set to become a free agent the following summer. After Leonard left Toronto for the Los Angeles Clippers, he ended up being just a rental, but he still left the city and the country with a championship.

DeRozan was traded to the San Antonio Spurs along with Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round draft pick in 2019 in exchange for Leonard and Danny Green. He spent the next three seasons in Texas, where he averaged 21.6 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 206 games, while hitting 50.1 percent of his shots and 22.7 percent of his three-pointers.

DeRozan did not make the All-Star team, but led the Spurs to the playoffs once, as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The 35-year-old spent nine seasons in Canada and was a four-time All-Star, twice All-NBA Second Team and once All-NBA Third Team.

Additionally, he is the Raptors' leader in games played, minutes played, field goals, free throws and points and ranks fourth in assists.

DeRozan has left a legacy in Toronto, and although seven seasons have passed since his trade, Toronto is still close to his heart. The veteran NBA guard is now entering his 16th NBA season and his first with the Sacramento Kings.

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