DeMar DeRozan won’t get Vince Carter treatment for post-season revenge chance against Raptors

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There’s no question which two trades were the biggest in the nearly three-decade history of the Toronto Raptors.

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The deal sending Vince Carter to New Jersey for a whole lot of nothing and the privilege of paying Alonzo Mourning not to come to Canada in December of 2004 sent the franchise on a downward spiral.

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Nearly 14 years later, the Raptors shook up the NBA world again, this time winning a blockbuster in landing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for a package headlined by another iconic Raptor, DeMar DeRozan. That move propelled the Raptors to the franchise’s first championship.

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Carter never won an NBA title, while DeRozan’s quest for his first continues, in Toronto of all places. His Chicago Bulls take on the Raptors in a play-in game on Wednesday.

DeRozan, albeit on a smaller scale, gets a chance to do what Carter did back in April of 2007, get some revenge on the franchise that sent him packing (more on that later). The circumstances are completely different of course, Carter asked for a trade and his play went south in his final season in Toronto to the point that many fans booed the former leading all-star vote getter. It took over a decade for the iciness to thaw between the fanbase and Carter and a significant number will never forgive Carter for his role in the divorce.

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DeRozan will never get that same treatment. He never wanted to leave and was heartbroken when it happened. Nobody has a bad word to say about him and he admitted this week he could “never be a villain” in Canada.

DeRozan was a key part of the most successful period in Raptors history, a homegrown all-star who, along with Kyle Lowry, finally allowed the franchise to turn the page on the Carter saga.

Carter didn’t just help sink the franchise by leaving (the Raptors went 52-88 in the first 1.5 seasons following the trade). When they finally righted the ship, surprisingly winning the Atlantic Division with a franchise record 47 wins in 2006-07, Carter was there to haunt them again. The favoured Raptors were overwhelmed by the No. 6 seed Nets, with Carter averaging a series-best 25 points per game. Carter erupted for 37 after the Raptors had tied the series at a win apiece, then had another big game as the Nets went up 3-1. He nearly knocked them out in five games, with a late three-pointer to cap a furious Nets comeback, but his follow-up pass to an open teammate resulted in a miss at the buzzer, allowing the Raptors to fight on for another day. He did his damage in Toronto while being jeered every time he touched the ball and with some fans wearing baby bibs and pacifiers and t-shirts reading “FU, VC.” The predominant chant in the crowd combined: “Let’s go Raptors” with the follow-up: “VC sucks.”

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The stakes won’t be anywhere near as high for DeRozan on Wednesday. Toronto’s had an underachieving year after so much success and nobody expects much of the group. Toronto is a slight favourite against a Chicago team it has mirrored since the all-star break. The fanbase isn’t amped up the way it was during the 2006-07 Renaissance. Many would be fine with a loss and better lottery odds. Though ticket prices are high, the mood about the first taste of the NBA play-in tournament in these parts appears to be mild intrigue mixed with a lot of shrugging. Even a win guarantees nothing, you’d still need to beat the Miami-Atlanta loser just to advance to a real playoff series against the NBA’s best team, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Still, DeRozan has a chance to get some payback against a front office that investigated dealing him even before the fit with the San Antonio Spurs was found in 2018. He can end this Raptors season in Toronto no less.

Hell, he might even be cheered while doing so.

@WolstatSun