Nikola Vucevic on DeMar DeRozan departure: He was very well liked in the locker room, everybody gravitated towards him

Ky Carlin: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan back in the gym working out #Sixers pic.x.com/vfddczfchu -via Twitter @Ky_Carlin / September 6, 2024

Malika Andrews: In the foreword for Above The Noise, Gregg Popovich writes about DeMar DeRozan’s quest for a “safe space to believe the world could be just and fair once again.” I expect this book — and DeMar’s vulnerability as he explores his own depression — will create that very space for many. -via Twitter @malika_andrews / September 6, 2024

DeMar DeRozan: “It was tough because obviously everybody knows like I wanted to be there. I wanted to stay there. That was home. So, getting traded, the way it went down, that part hurt more than anything. Then, when I finally calmed down and realized like, ‘I’m going to San Antonio,’ it’s like, ‘Yo, I’m playing for Pop!’ When I got traded, I didn’t talk to nobody for like two weeks. I wasn’t answering my phone. I was mad as hell. I was hurt, I ain’t going to lie. But Pop had called me out of the blue and just was like, ‘Look, we didn’t trade you, we traded for you.’ When I let that sink in, I was like, ‘Damn, he got a point.’” -via YouTube / August 27, 2024

On how he deals with trade speculation that has mostly swirled around LaVine in recent months but occasionally features his name: Nikola Vucevic: I mean, honestly, I’m used to it at this point. Since I’ve been with the Bulls, I’ve been in a lot of trade stories, especially last summer as well throughout last season. So it’s just part of it. Like I said before, if things were going well and we’re winning and everything was great, that wouldn’t be the case. But because things weren’t going that well, we weren’t winning and we weren’t achieving our goals, then obviously change is bound to happen. Honestly, I know it’s a pretty basic answer, but you don’t have much control over it, so you kind of just wait and see. If they decide to change and trade me, it’s on them to do. Just like a year and a half ago I was a free agent and I could have chosen to go elsewhere. It’s just the way this business works and so now we’ll see. -via marcstein.substack.com / September 6, 2024

On recent reports in Europe that he hopes to play four more years: Nikola Vucevic: I think that kind of came out wrong. It wasn’t that I want to play four more years. It was just more so that … they were asking me, like, am I thinking about retirement? I was just like, ‘Retiring?’ In my mind I have at least four more years and then I want to see from there what I can do. But it came out as, like, I want to play four more years. -via marcstein.substack.com / September 6, 2024

On Lonzo Ball’s comeback chances: I’ve heard that he’s been looking good … that he’s been doing everything that he can to get back. I’m excited to see him back in the game when we get back in Chicago, see how everything looks. I really hope for him that he’s able to play and be back. I can’t imagine, at that age (26) especially, having to miss two and a half years. It was very difficult for him to deal with different treatments, surgeries and all that. It’s a long road to come back and so, hopefully, I really hope for him that it pays off and he’s able to play again. He’ll mean so much to our team because of his talent and everything. -via marcstein.substack.com / September 6, 2024