LOS ANGELES — DeMar DeRozan was one of the first people to learn that Kyle Lowry would be traded from the Miami Heat to the Charlotte Hornets this week.
Lowry called DeRozan early Tuesday morning to tell him about the trade before the news broke. For DeRozan, it came as a blow — not as a player or competitor but as a longtime friend.
“It sucked,” DeRozan said. “To me, it flips to being there for him more so as a friend. For me, basketball kind of goes out the window.