Lou Williams blames Drake's IYRITL hit for Toronto Raptors not re-signing him in 2015: "A thousand percent"

Lou Williams shared during a recent episode of The Underground Lounge that a Drake song cost him another run with the team. DeMar DeRozan was Williams' guest for the episode.

The Raptors had an excellent year with DeRozan and 'Sweet Lou' as teammates. Williams won the Sixth Man of the Year award during his 2014-15 Toronto stint. The 6-foot-2 Georgia native averaged 15.5 points and 2.1 assists that season. At the time, DeRozan's star was rising.

Toronto fans hoped to see Williams return. Unfortunately, the front office went a different route and didn't retain him during the offseason.

The three-time Sixth Man of the Year explained why the Raptors didn't bring him back for the 2015-16 campaign.

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"The word was Toronto didn't re-sign me because of my lifestyle. They said I was a bad influence, and my vibe wasn't right for what they were building out there. Did you ever hear that?

DeRozan confirmed the rumor. However, the standout forward stated Williams' off-court choices weren't an issue for him or his teammates. According to the three-time All-NBA player, only the front office had a problem with its high-scoring reserve.

Williams' co-host, Spank Horton, asked if Drake's song "6 Man," from his 2015 album If You're Reading This It's Too Late influenced team brass. Williams responded:

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"A thousand percent."

The song starts with the lines:

Boomin' out in South Gwinnett like Lou Will.

6 man like Lou Will. Two girls and they get along like I'm (Lou),

Like I'm Lou Will. I just got the new deal.

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Williams and DeRozan's former Raptors teammates almost fought

During Williams' podcast, DeRozan stated that James Johnson and Reggie Evans almost fought. According to the former Raptors' star, Evans becomes unusually aggressive when rebounding.

However, Johnson kept stealing rebounds from Evans, which prompted the undersized forward to threaten the 6-foot-7 journeyman. He told his teammate a fight would happen if his rebound was stolen again. However, JJ didn't back down and told teammates they'd fight in the locker room after the game.

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"We go in the locker room, they about to fight. I think Amir [Johnson] tried to gram JJ, and JJ did something, twisted his arm or something."

Johnson has a background in kickboxing and MMA, while Evans doesn't back down from a challenge. Luckily, DeRozan shared that it didn't escalate into anything serious.

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