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Toronto Raptors rush to roster transformation on NBA trade deadline Thursday, engaging in multi-front talks centered on separate deals for six-time All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell sources told ESPN.
In the final year of his contract, Lowry’s chances of leaving Toronto in a trade grew in popularity. Powell’s future has become a lot less whether he will be moved, but who among a dozen suitors will acquire it.
The Raptors – nine-game losers, falling 11th in the Eastern Conference – will have further talks Wednesday with a deadline for Eastern trade on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia and Miami have signed Toronto on Lowry, and league sources say there are several other teams in the Eastern and Western conferences, which gives Toronto president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster a reason to weigh the possibility of accepting a return of future assets instead of bending over. on Lowry for one last run in the playoffs.
Lowry, who turns 35 on Thursday, grew up in Philadelphia, playing his college ball at Villanova. A trade with the Sixers would represent a homecoming, but Lowry has been open-minded to a number of potential destinations, sources say. Lowry does not have a veto on a trade, but the Raptors’ leadership is considering Lowry’s wishes, given his monumental role in the franchise’s rise to the playoffs, a 2019 NBA championship and its place in the Canadian sporting tradition.
Lowry, who earns $ 30.5 million this season, will seek a new contract during the offseason.
Philadelphia has discussed separate deals with Toronto over Lowry and Powell, sources said. The Sixers also inquired about other guards available in the market, including George Hill from Oklahoma City and Lonzo Ball from New Orleans, according to sources.
By moving Lowry and Powell, the Raptors would speed up a rebuild built around three young players they’ve invested in with long-term contracts: guards Fred VanVleet and forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
The Raptors were decimated with COVID issues and injuries, dropping to 17-26 overall, 11th in the Eastern Conference. The franchise’s climb up the playoff table is pretty steep, especially in a season where the team plays away from Canada in Tampa, Florida.
Powell, 27, had his best NBA season, averaging 19.7 points and shooting 43 percent from three points. He is expected to decline his contract’s $ 11.6 million option for the 2021-22 season and become a free agent this summer. Teams negotiating for him would rather find a way to sign him to a new deal and not give up assets just to have him on lease for the rest of the season.
The Raptors have a host of ways to trade Powell – a number of combinations of young players, draft picks and expiring contracts – that will give Toronto an option.
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