It’s why the resolution sharpened DeRozan’s already-known focus. “When the Chicago thing came around and I made that happen, it was such a relief. But at the same time, it angered me and put me in a very frustrating mental (state) of like, (expletive) this. I’m about to demolish anything you gotta say about me,” DeRozan told Green. “I’m not going to say nothing. I’m just going to work my ass off. And I’m going to prove not just for myself but for anybody who feel like they get counted out, they get doubted or get told that they can’t do something. “My whole career has kind of been based off that. But I never let it bring me completely down. It knocked me down. But I got back up. And for me, that moment of going to Chicago, I just told myself, ‘This is a new opportunity. I’m going to make the most out of it in every type of way.’”