On Thursday, Kyle Lowry broke his silence on this summer's blockbuster that saw his best friend get traded.
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Lowry admitted an interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated that it took him some time to come to terms with the Toronto Raptors trading DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard in the offseason, but he "never held on to it."
Lowry added that he's "always good" and will "continue to be the best player I can be" regardless of what happens off the court.
"Everyone is going to make a story out of that one," Lowry told Spears. "When it happens, you are always a little emotional. But as a player, as an older man, you’re going to be all right. Don’t react right away. And that is what I didn’t do. My best friend in the world got traded. He was upset. Things were hectic."
"For me, I’m going to support him and I have his back," he continued. "But I understand it’s a business. And everyone made peace with it. And everyone continued to do great things."
Both Lowry and DeRozan have gotten the season off to a strong start, with Lowry breaking franchise records in Toronto and DeRozan establishing himself as an early MVP candidate in San Antonio.
Lowry has been watching his former teammate closely, saying he's been playing at an "unbelievable" level and that he's pushing him more than he ever has before.
"I can push him to be a better player every single night because I can watch from afar," Lowry said. "I can tell him what he is doing, what I see and help him even more because I’m not on the floor with him. I can see with the naked eye, ‘You can do this.’"
The Raptors and Spurs will meet for the first time this season on Jan. 3 in what will be a homecoming for Leonard. The two teams will meet again on Feb. 22 in what will be DeRozan's highly anticipated return to Toronto.
While Lowry says it will be "weird" and "emotional" playing against DeRozan, he has "no doubt" that Toronto fans will show the franchise's all-time leading scorer some love by giving him a standing ovation when he comes to town.
You can read the rest of Spears' interview with Lowry here.
