Whenever a Raptor— past, present, or future— begins a letter to fans with “F*** Brooklyn!” you know he’s doing something right.
That’s how former Raptor Terrence Ross, who was traded from Toronto to the Orlando Magic last week in exchange for Serge Ibaka, began his farewell letter to the fans and city.
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In a lengthy transmission, the 26 year-old swingman looked back on his Raptors career, the meteoric rise of the team’s popularity between the time he was drafted in the first round in 2010 and was ultimately dealt at this year’s deadline, and his reaction when he learned he’d been traded:
When I first found out earlier this month that I was getting traded to Orlando, man, I won’t lie to you: It definitely hurt. Everything that I was a part of in Toronto, with this team, and these fans, and this journey that we were all on together … it meant so much to me. And the reason it meant so much to me, I think, was that my Toronto journey has really been the journey of my adult life so far.
When I came to Toronto, I was just a kid: 21 years old, with only two years of college under my belt, and (yeah, we can admit it, I’ve seen my rookie tapes) not much polish. But now, as I say goodbye at 26, and look back on my time with the Raptors … I feel like I’ve truly grown up. As a player, I’m still not quite where I want to be — a high-impact contributor on an NBA champion — but I’m working hard to be on my way. And as a person … well … I just hope I’ve grown into a man that you all can be proud of.
In two games with the Magic so far, Ross is averaging 18.5 points in 34 minutes per game and dropped 24 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep in Orlando’s win over the Atlanta Hawks over the weekend.
You can read Ross’ full farewell letter over at the Player’s Tribune.