Despite his advanced age of 35, Toronto Raptors guardian Kyle Lowry will be among the NBA’s top free agents in August.
The six-time all-star average 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists with an excellent 40% shot from a distance last season. Several competing teams will be interested in him. Here we take a look at the top five travel destinations for Mr. Lowry in the open market.
Kyle Lowry to the San Antonio Spurs
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There is a belief in San Antonio that Gregg Popovich and Co. will not be fully rebuilt as the head coach just turned 72 in January. While rumors persist that DeMar DeRozan could leave town Chances are he will return with San Antonio after two consecutive non-playoff seasons.
Now that the Spurs have $ 52 million to spend on free agencies, they could potentially find a way to reunite DeRozan with former Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry. The two played together for six seasons in Canada, earning continuous playoff appearances. For this to work, San Antonio may need to involve the Raptors in sign-and-trade scenarios. Maybe, Dejounte Murray or Derrick White might be of interest to Toronto’s brass players.
Miami Heat finally adds Kyle Lowry
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It’s pretty much a running gag in South Beach. Heat front office boss Pat Riley is chasing Lowry for what seems to be eons. Ahead of the March 2021 NBA trading deadline, something seemed close on that front. As you already know, nothing happened.
Fresh from an ugly one Playoff sweep in the first round In the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami promises to be active this off-season. It is also likely to turn down the 2021-22 options on Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala, which means Lowry can be signed directly. Such a signature would allow Miami to move Tyler Herro into his natural position with two guards, with Jimmy Butler playing the three. It might be enough for the Heat to return to the conference title fight after a year-long hiatus.
Los Angeles Lakers win Kyle Lowry in sign-and-trade
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The NBA salary caps would prohibit the Lakers from entering into a sign-and-trade that would involve both Dennis Schroder and Kyle Lowry. With that in mind, Los Angeles has other ways to track Lowry during an active summer for the 2020 NBA Champions.
Among other things, Rob Pelinka becomes the managing director of Lakers looking for an upgrade through Schroder at the point guard. It could potentially come in the form of Lowry traveling to Southern California to get a package with Kyle Kuzma and the Lakers pick for the first round in 2021. Depending on whether Lowry would take a discount to chase a ring, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and other moving parts may have to land in Toronto for salaries to work.
Kyle Lowry makes his way to the Philadelphia 76ers
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Could a deal between Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry be an option? On paper, it makes perfect sense for both Toronto and Philadelphia. It gets a little more complicated when it comes to salaries and breaking the NBA caps.
Toronto needs to make a little more room in this business as Lowry won’t make nearly as much Simmons makes $ 33 million annually about his deal with Philadelphia. Maybe the Raptors sweeten the pot with the underrated striker Chris Boucher. Regardless of the semantics, we absolutely love Lowry as he matches Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Raptors add Simmons to go with franchise stars Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. It almost makes too much sense.
New York Knicks go broke with Kyle Lowry
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With north of $ 55 million to spend in the independent NBA agency, the upstart Knicks can sign Lowry directly. It’s something that came up in the Big Apple with New York looking for multiple ways to upgrade at the point guard. It also makes a lot of sense considering that a sign-and-trade wouldn’t have to be worked out with Toronto.
In this scenario, Lowry ends up in New York with around $ 25 million annually – so the team can still pursue another star player, either through free agency or the commercial market. It is this forward-thinking mentality that could make the Knicks legitimate contenders for the Eastern Conference title.
