As the Chicago Bulls get ready to take on the challenge of the trade deadline, they won’t be the only Eastern Conference team looking to make moves. In fact, some squads around the East have already begun to shake things up. The New York Knicks traded for OG Anunoby, the Indiana Pacers landed Pascal Siakam, and most recently, the Miami Heat made a deal for Terry Rozier.
In the Rozier trade, Miami sent Kyle Lowry and a protected first-round pick in 2027 to the Charlotte Hornets. Lowry and Bulls star DeMar DeRozan are best friends from their days playing together on the Toronto Raptors. Following the trade, DeRozan supposedly spoke to Lowry.
Per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, DeRozan said that Lowry talked to him before the move was made official.
“It sucked,” DeRozan said of the Lowry trade. “He called me early in the morning. Let me know before it came out. What was going on.”
DeMar DeRozan on Kyle Lowry’s trade from Miami to Charlotte: “It sucked.”
Said that Kyle called him in the morning before news broke. Flipped over to friend mode at that point to offer support. pic.twitter.com/20JaUQW4qz
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) January 24, 2024
DeRozan also noted that Lowry wasn’t too thrilled to be traded to Charlotte.
“No, of course not,” DeRozan said when asked of Lowry was thrilled to be heading to the Hornets.
His main focus right now is being there for his friend.
“But I think, for me, it flips to being there for him more so as a friend,” said DeRozan. “More than anything. For me, basketball goes out the window. Even last night, I just texted him before I went to sleep. Asked him how he was feeling mentally. That’s all I care about first. But everything else will work its way out.”
It seems unlikely that Lowry ever suits up for the Hornets, meaning he could be on the buyout market post-trade deadline if he’s not moved again.
