Former Raptors guard reacts to Drake dissing DeMar DeRozan during Vince Carter's jersey retirement: "They'll figure it out"
During six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan's nine seasons in Toronto, he quickly became a fan favorite alongside Kyle Lowry. When the front office first broke the duo up, many fans were heartbroken that DeRozan would be joining the San Antonio Spurs.
While DeRozan has remained complimentary of both Toronto and Canada, Drake took a shot at him during Vince Carter's jersey retirement.
The ceremony took place at halftime during the Raptors' game against DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. During the broadcast, Drake was in the broadcasting booth and took an unprovoked shot at DeRozan. He said that if the franchise retired his jersey, he would take it down from the rafters himself.
During an appearance on the "Draymond Green Show" this week, former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, who played in Toronto alongside DeRozan, weighed in on the beef.
"I hope that this situation isn't that deep to where it's like we kind of changed the legacy or the history, you know, of the basketball that was played and I believe all things can be reconciled.
"As long as ain't nobody been hurt and nothing physical has happened. You know, it's men being men, and, you know, I think they'll figure it out."
Fred VanVleet believes DeMar DeRozan deserves to have his jersey retired in Toronto despite Drake's comments
During DeMar DeRozan's nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, he and Kyle Lowry led the team as far as the Eastern Conference Finals. While the team came up short of their ultimate goal of winning a title, DeRozan cemented his place in franchise history in a number of different ways.
To date, he remains the Raptors' all-time leader in games played with 675, points with 13,296, and free throws with 3,539. Given that, and the buzz he and the Raptors created before he was traded to San Antonio, Fred VanVleet believes he deserves to have his jersey retired.
"Yeah, I think it should. I think it should. I think that when you look at what he did, you know, especially when you want to give the history of the franchise and what Vince and all of those guys meant at the beginning and what that meant for Canadian basketball.
"Because that's what a lot of people don't understand is how much impact the team and the franchise has on the country. So, we saw the impact that Vince had and then we saw it again with DeMar. He didn't lead the team to the title, but he ultimately, he built that foundation and laid that foundation."
Of course, DeRozan isn't planning a retirement ceremony any time soon, and is currently averaging 25.6 ppg, the most he's averaged since the 2021-22 season. It's also the second-highest ppg average since the 2016-17 season.
When he decides to walk away from the game, it will be interesting to see if Toronto honors him by retiring his jersey.