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Kyle Lowry is perhaps the most accomplished player in Toronto Raptors history. The six-time All-Star was, aside from Kawhi Leonard, the most important part of the team’s 2019 championship run, but with Lowry now 34 and the Raptors below .500 he could possibly be. – be time for both teams to do their part. different paths. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, “There is a section of the Raptors staff, according to league sources, who believe the franchise should say goodbye to its beloved All-Star and start the next Toronto chapter for. good.”
On paper, such an approach would make sense. The incentive to keep a franchise icon in place isn’t as strong with the Raptors playing Tampa Bay rather than Toronto this season. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are only 26 years old. OG Anunoby is 23 years old. All three could form the core of a long-term winner, but only if the rest of the list is handled properly. Toronto could have a cap this offseason, but only if it lets Lowry walk in free agency. Cashing it in now could give the Raptors the assets they would need to replace it in the future.
Finding a business partner would be quite a difficult undertaking from a capping point of view. Lowry will make $ 30 million this season, and matching that number during a pandemic season won’t be easy. This is especially true given the number of likely suitors who are capped. Of the 29 teams Toronto could potentially face Lowry, 17 are grappling with tough selections thanks to their off-season moves. Some of these teams have more than enough room below the line to make a move, but others, like the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks, are pressed against the apron as is. This does not prevent them from making a deal, but it does make it extremely difficult to aggregate multiple salaries to reach Lowry’s because there has to be room left to fill the list.
But a player with Lowry’s talents will have a lot of suitors. The Clippers, devoid of a traditional playmaker, would make sense if they could make the money grow, although their lack of tradable first-round picks will also complicate the deal. The Miami Heat are in a similar position. Lowry’s hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, could use a more traditional point guard, and unlike the Clippers and Heat, they’re not limited.
What Toronto would require in such a deal remains unclear. In what is emerging as a seller’s market, Toronto may have the best player available on the board. So they should expect to get a decent price for Lowry in terms of draft assets and young talent, should they decide to move him. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported on Monday that they were interested in Andre Drummond. This would suggest a desire to stay competitive with players still close to their bounties.
But the Raptors resumed their way into the playoff race after a slow start. They currently hold the number 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. If that held up, they would at least have a chance of reaching the playoffs through the play-in tournament. It’s hardly what the Raptors expected after years of arguing, but if the goal remains to win at all costs, Lowry is undoubtedly a vital cog in this endeavor. If, however, the Raptors envision a future without Lowry, then a deal now makes the most sense for all parties involved.
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