Whether star Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry chooses to stay or leave, DeMar DeRozan says he'll support whatever decision his friend and teammate makes this summer.
Lowry announced that his is opting out of the final year of his contract with the Raptors and will become a free agent.
The morning after the Raptors' season ended in a four-game sweep by the Cleveland Cavaliers, DeRozan said he hasn't thought much about Lowry's future with the team.
``I never looked at it or tried to put it into perspective, what it would be like without him,'' DeRozan said. ``It's going to be a decision on him that he's going to have to make, and I support him 100 per cent.
``We gained something that goes way beyond basketball, so that's why when it comes to things like this, I don't put the pressure on him, or I don't say: do this, do that. He's got to make the decision, as a friend I've got to be there to support him.''
Raptors players met with the media on Monday's traditional post-season locker cleanout day.
The team faces an off-season with numerous questions, including the future of coach Dwane Casey.
DeRozan said the players stuck by the six-year Raptors coach.
``Even when we had our bad days, our good days, we stuck by him,'' DeRozan said. ``One thing about Case, Case is one hell of a person outside of a coach. When you've got a coach that's a great guy like Case, them bad can flip quick into the good days. He's been the same wit his funny quotes, his sayings. . . sometimes he hit us with that and the whole room started laughing.''