While the Toronto Raptors are hoping that the addition of Kawhi Leonard last summer can propel them to bigger and better in the playoffs, that hasn’t made the departure of DeMar DeRozan any easier to process.
And while there have been a lot of players to suit for the Raptors at different points this season — all in all, 22 players have played for Toronto this season — the team has kept DeRozan’s stall in the locker room, right next to Kyle Lowry’s, vacant as a gesture of respect.
In early December, the locker was then given a name badge for Drake, “The Boy,” while remaining unused. That has stood until some time recently, when the Raptors finally put DeRozan’s old locker back to use. The new owner? Late-season signee Eric Moreland!
You’ll be forgiven if you weren’t familiar with Moreland. He’s played a total of 43 minutes for the Raptors this season, signing a 10-day contract in March and then another contract in April to fill the 15th roster spot for the playoffs.
So, no, the Raptors weren’t really holding on to DeRozan’s locker room for anyone special. It was a nice gesture at the beginning of the season, but now it’s time for that locker to be, well, a locker again. Now that it’s the playoffs, however, maybe the Raptors are wanting to dodge the so-called Drake curse?
You can’t blame Mike Babcock and the Leafs for being guilty of the same, however.
