TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 7: Rapper, Drake greets DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors after Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 7, 2017 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE

Drake bids farewell to DeRozan, welcomes Kawhi in Instagram post

8 years ago

Mark Blinch / National Basketball Association / Getty

To my brother @demar_derozan I want to say 10 million thank you’s on behalf of YOUR city. You are a fixture in Toronto forever and you gave everything you had. Through your leadership we had the most exciting years in franchise history. I am grateful to have witnessed your combination of skill, persistence, and loyalty from the same seats every night. Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend. To Kawhi...we look forward to a this new chapter and we welcome you to the most intense and supportive city in NBA basketball!!! You have always been a poised clinical warrior and I can’t wait to see how Toronto inspires your fight. Let’s Go Raptors.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jul 18, 2018 at 12:24pm PDT

"I guess this is goodbye, goodnight, and good luck ..."

Drake - a Toronto native, highly acclaimed rapper, and "global ambassador" for the Raptors - has mixed emotions as it pertains to the organization moving on from DeMar DeRozan, who he had established a tight-knit relationship with over the years.

On one hand, the Champagne Papi is sad to see a beloved star and close friend sent packing in a trade to the San Antonio Spurs. On the other, he's excited to see a "poised clinical Warrior" like Kawhi Leonard make his way north of the border.

In an Instagram post published Wednesday afternoon, Drake thanked DeRozan for all the good he did for the city and team since 2009, while also welcoming in Leonard as a "new chapter" of Raptors basketball officially gets underway.