DeMar DeRozan has arrived to the Spurs

“Feels great, definitely an honor to be here, be back to work and be in front of everybody. So it feels great," said DeMar DeRozan in his first public appearance as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.  

The Spurs officially opened their 2018 training camp with their annual media day Monday.   

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DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl were traded to San Antonio by the Toronto Raptors after Kawhi Leonard demanded he be dealt this off-season, preferably to a team in Los Angeles. The Spurs obliged by finding the city about as far away from LA as you can get in the NBA, but not due to revenge or anger. They got the best deal from Toronto, one which involved a four-time NBA All Star.

DeRozan admitted Monday that he was angry and frustrated when he was told about the trade. The Raptors were the only team he had played for since the team made him the ninth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

“I think every day that goes by me, being here, getting more comfortable — I just got back yesterday, so just to be able to get into the mix of everything, I’m looking forward to that," DeRozan said.

DeRozan's close friend, Rudy Gay, who teamed with DeRozan on the Raptors in 2013, has signed on for another year with the silver and black. That helped DeRozan cope and later convinced him the trade was a blessing in disguise.

“I talked to countless guys, a lot of guys I’m close to," revealed two time All-NBA Team member DeRozan. “Matter of fact, Rudy was one of the guys I talked to about the transition. That helped me a lot.”

One of the things that stood out for the Olympic gold medalist is when he saw a mural of him outside of Rudy’s Seafood in San Antonio on Instagram.

“I thought it was fake,” DeRozan said in amazement. “I was, like, 'Who Photoshopped this?' I didn’t think it was real until later on it went viral. To see that, it really gave me one of those feelings, where it was like, 'They love me like this already?' It gives you that extra hunger to want to go out there and do something for the fans and make them feel better than I felt in that moment."

Welcome to San Antonio, DeMar DeRozan, and welcome to the Spurs.