Atlantic Notes: DeRozan, Raptors, Ujiri, Simmons, Dolan

Asked this week during a radio appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto whether he’s interested in eventually returning to the Raptors to finish his NBA career, DeMar DeRozan expressed interest in the idea, though he made it clear that he doesn’t want to spend his final season as a benchwarmer in Toronto.

“You always want a poetic ending (in) that way,” DeRozan said. “Granted, most people don’t get to write their own ending. But what a better ending than being able to end where you start. Not just end, by just putting on the jersey. It has to be in a sense of me still being myself. I wouldn’t want to come back and be (Hakeem) Olajuwon (who spent an underwhelming final season in Toronto after 17 years in Houston). It has to just make sense. You kind of want to go out like you came in. That’s what people kind of remember you as.”

DeRozan, who was drafted ninth overall by the Raptors in 2009, spent his first nine seasons with the club before being sent to San Antonio in 2018’s Kawhi Leonard blockbuster trade. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in points (13,296) and games played (675), among other statistical categories.

DeRozan is under contract with the Kings for the next three seasons after joining the team via sign-and-trade this offseason.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

• What does it mean for Masai Ujiri‘s future in Toronto that Rogers has bought out Bell’s stake in the Raptors and gained majority ownership control? Eric Koreen of The Athletic explores that question, noting that Rogers chairman Edward Rogers III and Ujiri, the team’s longtime president of basketball operations, have had a “strained relationship” in the past. Rogers reportedly opposed the terms of the contract extension that Ujiri signed with the club in 2021, which has two years left on it.
• Nets guard Ben Simmons, who underwent back surgery in March, is on track to fully participate in training camp next month, agent Bernie Lee tells veteran NBA reporter Chris Haynes (Twitter link). “Ben is fully cleared and is a full participant for the start of camp,” Lee said. “He is excited to get started.”
• A U.S. District Court judge in California has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused Knicks team owner James Dolan of sexual assault, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The suit, which was filed in January, referenced incidents that took place in 2013 and 2014 allegedly involving Dolan and former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein. A Dolan spokesperson referred to the suit as “a malicious attempt to assert horrific allegations by an attorney who subverts the legal system for personal gain,” while the accuser’s attorneys said they’ll be appealing the court’s decision and will continue to pursue their client’s sexual battery claims against Dolan and Weinstein.