Kyle Lowry Really Doesn’t Want To Talk About The Kawhi Leonard Trade

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have been reunited — albeit briefly and bittersweetly — at the men’s USA Basketball minicamp in Las Vegas this week. The Raptors, of course, traded away DeRozan earlier this month in exchange for Kawhi Leonard, which DeRozan has very publicly decried as a betrayal of his trust on the part of the organization.

Beyond that, the friendship that had blossomed between DeRozan and Lowry during their time together in Toronto was a major factor in him signing a long-term contract to remain with the Raptors two summers ago, and DeRozan has further claimed that he was told he would not be traded.

Lowry isn’t particularly thrilled about any of this either, in case you were wondering. He made that perfectly clear in a somewhat awkward interview at the USA Basketball minicamp in Las Vegas this week in which he claimed to not know whether he’s had any communication with Kawhi Leonard since the trade.

Lowry was apparently dodging questions about the trade like Neo in the Matrix throughout his entire availability.

Meanwhile, he and DeRozan picked up right where they left off.

Kawhi didn’t attend the camp this week, reportedly so that he could prepare for his transition to Toronto. Despite some apparent initial trepidation about the trade, he appeared in a photograph with team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster that was posted to the Raptors’ Twitter account last week.

For DeRozan, it’s an opportunity to spend some time with his new coach Gregg Popovich, who’s coaching Team USA. And for the rest of us, it’s a bittersweet reminder of the NBA’s best bromance is now a long-distance affair.