Kyle Lowry To Undergo Wrist Surgery, Aims To Return For Playoffs

2:22pm: Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) that Lowry has a chance to return in four or five weeks and play in regular season games prior to the postseason.

2:11pm: Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry is scheduled to undergo wrist surgery on Tuesday morning to remove loose bodies from his wrist, the team announced today (via Twitter). While an exact timeline for Lowry’s recovery isn’t provided, the club suggests that he’s aiming to return for the playoffs, so it sounds like the All-Star guard will be sidelined for at least a few weeks, if not longer.

As we noted on Saturday after Lowry was originally ruled out indefinitely, the 30-year-old injured his wrist prior to the All-Star break, but participated in the three-point contest and the All-Star Game in New Orleans since he didn’t think it was a serious issue.

“Honestly, I thought I’d slept on it wrong — I thought it would go away,” Lowry said last week. “It was a little sore, but I paid no attention to it.”

Without Lowry in the lineup, the Raptors have won their first two games following the All-Star break. Cory Joseph has started in Lowry’s spot, DeMar DeRozan has averaged 38 points per game, and newcomers Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker have fit in well. Still, Lowry has been the Raptors’ most important player in recent years, and his absence will be felt by the team in the coming weeks. As NBA.com’s advanced stats show, the club has a +8.0 net rating this season when Lowry is on the court, and a -3.5 rating when he’s not.

Lowry, who is earning a $12MM salary this season, has a $12MM player option for 2017/18. This injury is unlikely to affect his decision on that option — he’ll turn it down, though the Raptors are viewed as a strong favorite to re-sign him.