DeMar DeRozan has been in the league for over 15 years now. The Compton native is now 35 years of age and plays the role of a veteran in the locker room. But when asked what his veteran presence is like, DeRozan broke down the two extremely opposite approaches he has with players as a vet leader.
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The six-time All-Star was a guest on The Underground Lounge podcast. Sitting down with former NBA player Lou Williams, DeRozan dove into his veteran persona and how he treats the younger players accordingly.
“Whatever city we get to, there’s a mandatory meeting downstairs. 15 minutes after you put your bag down, we go out to go eat. Ain’t no eating no chicken wings, like we going to a restaurant.”
DeRozan explained how he would take the younger guys on the team to nice places to dine in instead of going to fast-food joints. However, when it comes to being a veteran presence on the court, Deebo pushes the young players to their extreme limits.
“When it’s anything on the court, I push the motherf**kers to the breaking point. I talk crazy to ‘em and I don’t let up on ‘em at all.”
But when it’s off the court, DeRozan is as hospitable as anyone in the league. Although, it still catches him off-guard when the younger players in the league tell DeRozan how they grew up watching him in the league.
DeRozan’s time with the young Bulls
In an interview with BleacherReport, DeRozan talked about his veteran presence in Chicago and his time with the Bulls organization. Being surrounded by a much younger roster than him, the six-time All-Star described how it was.
“It’s enjoyable because you learn so much from them and they teach you so much in the same token. And once you, like accept that, it’s fun.”
DeMar mentioned other things he would learn from the youngsters, which included new music, some new culture of the youth, and much more. He even described how some of the players on the Bulls roster would make fun of him being born in the 80s and how that would make him feel old.
However, DeRozan never took it in an offensive manner. In fact, the 35-year-old has joined the Sacramento Kings this season and will be playing with a whole new roster of players with a few vets along with him.
It’ll be interesting to see how well he fits within the organization.
