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DeMar DeRozan Helped Build a Culture that May Convince Kawhi Leonard to Stay in Toronto

Now that every party involved in the DeMae DeRozan-Kawhi Leonard mega deal has had some time to somewhat come to terms with their new situations, the magnitude of what the Raptors "culture" has lost is becoming clear. The cost to acquire Kawhi Leonard, and promote Nick Nurse for that matter, goes beyond DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, a 2019 top-twenty protected first-round pick, and Dwane Casey’s buyout. These moves removed the cornerstones of the Raptors oft praised organizational culture built during Masai Ujiri’s tenure, in DeRozan and Casey. It remains to be seen if Kawhi Leonard and Nick Nurse can restructure the past culture around themselves or will make it distinctly their own; or if their presence will lead to the projected improvements or not. What does seem clear though is that the 2018/19 Raptors will restore a long-standing debate about "culture" beyond its history as a corporate buzz word: is culture innate or something that can be built and acquired? I will leave the philosophical/academic debate for those more well read in the matter, but on a strictly basketball level this debate may be the most important one in Raptors history. If we take a big picture view of the Raptors history we will find many disappointing seasons and disappointment when star players, whether in their prime or well past it, refused to report or stay. The alternative is the snap shot of Raptors history that features success under Masai Ujiri and stellar player development and attachment to the city of Toronto that has made the Raptors a leading organization in the NBA. With these two viewpoints established the question becomes, does the full history outweigh what Ujiri and Co. have built, on top of a shaky organizational history, and translate to the shaken up 2018/19 roster? The role DeRozan and Casey played in the creation of that admirable team ethos makes it possible the shaky foundation will give out and return the Raptors to their historical norm of ineptitude.

If the recent fun and successful Raptors are going the crumble into a team in need of a rebuild the absence of DeRozan and Casey’s relationships may be a big reason. To begin DeRozan’s strong friendship with Kyle Lowry probably helped through the transition from Bryan Colangelo to Ujiri and Jay Triano to Casey. When Lowry arrived in Toronto his reputation preceded him and did not tell good things about him. But, having a top-level peer to confide in and relate to over time likely helped. DeRozan was unique as well because he worked to become a star level player and just kept working to improve himself, which meant no other Raptor could get complacent, even a leader like Lowry. As well, DeRozan was willing to listen to criticism and be challenged by Ujiri and Casey and use it as motivation to feed his desire to improve in the offseason. His mindset (#ProveEm) set a spectacular example for young players and Lowry himself, who bristled at Casey’s early criticisms but grew to respect the man immensely and the example of fellow all-star in DeRozan setting a, quick high standard likely helped. The dynamics DeRozan thrived off of gave Casey and other coaches a sterling example for player development purposes as well, because if your all-star/all-NBA calibre player is still working long hours to improve and properly channeling criticism, what is a less established players excuse? Overall. DeRozan operated as a star player who fit perfectly into the desired hierarchy for a healthy NBA organization and allowed it to strive; by giving the coach a standard to point to with credibility and every player an example of what level of work is expected. With DeRozan’s basketball contributions, his off-court work matches if not exceeds his on-court contributions it is safe to say, laid out the focus must turn to the new leaders Kawhi Leonard and Nick Nurse and how they will fit in the hierarchy with Lowry and the young core, as well as the general player development focus of the team.

This topic is one we will not know about truly for some time. The new coach being an internal hire may point to a continuation of what DeRozan and Casey built, but Nick Nurse’s NBA inexperience may limit his ability to hold Kawhi accountable and challenge him, which in turn may cause Lowry to push back amongst others. But if Ujiri is right and the organizational culture he has built can withstand the replacement of its main architects then the Raptors have acquired a top 3-5 NBA player for relatively little and have a well-run organization with excellent facilities and a great city that should be enough to at least make Kawhi Leonard consider the extra year and forty odd million the Raptors can offer him next summer seriously. This all sets up an age old academic debate over culture, on a basketball team and is the biggest test of Masai Ujiri’s time with the Raptors. It would be surprising if Ujiri would rather have it any other way because what good is having an attractive city and team ethos if you can not use it to move into the upper echelon of NBA contention? The answer will come next year, and next summer but for now we can look forward excitedly to what Kawhi could do and appreciate what DeRozan and Casey have done to make it all possible.