DeMar DeRozan believes Toronto Raptors' title would have happened without Kawhi Leonard trade

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All DeMar DeRozan did from the time he was drafted by the Toronto Raptors was work to make the organization as successful as possible.

Before it was cool to be back in the gym at midnight working on one’s craft, DeRozan and then-running mate Sonny Weems were doing it.

When Chris Bosh bolted to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami to form the Big Three, it was DeRozan who promised the fan base “I got us.”

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When Kyle Lowry arrived looking to make Toronto a mere pit stop in his career, it was the life-long bond he formed with DeRozan that helped change his mind and had him thinking about the city as a place he could win.

But when it came time to put the finishing touches on the roster that would win it all, DeRozan was the odd-man out, sent to San Antonio so Kawhi Leonard could come here.

Most will tell you that championship would never have become a reality without that trade. DeRozan begs to differ.

DeRozan believes — and we’re not going to argue with the man — that championship would have happened whether Masai Ujiri pulled the plug on the deal that sent DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a first-round pick to San Antonio for Leonard and Danny Green.

Now, DeRozan didn’t offer this up without some prompting. The revelation came about only after ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, as only Stephen A. can do, boldly suggested that the path for a Toronto championship run was already there, particularly after LeBron James left the East for the greener pastures of La-La land.

There’s no question that James’ presence in the Cleveland lineup had been the biggest impediment for the Raptors’ path out of the East to that point. With James in the West on a rebuilding Lakers team, Smith suggested the Raptors with DeRozan and without Leonard, and with Dwane Casey still running the show, Toronto would have won a title.

DeRozan smiled knowingly when Smith made that suggestion. It was clear this scenario was not new to him.

“It sucks that we couldn’t see what happened,” DeRozan began. “With me still being there, it changes the whole dynamic and everything. But I definitely felt that way. I congratulated all those guys for winning that championship; every guy that I played with. That country, that city, they deserved it.”

Agree or disagree, none of us will ever know for sure, but it’s no surprise at all that DeRozan feels that way. The man put in the work and helped get the franchise to a certain point of contention.

Who is to say that with one more year and James no longer in the way, DeRozan, Lowry and company couldn’t have been crowned champs together?