The NBA champion Raptors had two All-Stars on last season’s roster. One – Kawhi Leonard – has since left for Los Angeles and will play for the Clippers in 2019/20. However, the other – Kyle Lowry – told reporters on Monday at USA Basketball’s World Cup training camp that he hopes to remain in Toronto going forward.
“I want to be there,” Lowry said, per Chris Mannix of SI.com. “I would love to do an extension, but we’ll see what happens … I would love to be there long-term. We’ll have the discussion when the time is right.”
Lowry, who is entering the final year of his current contract, became eligible for an extension last month. Veterans who sign three- or four-year deals can ink extensions after the two-year anniversary of their signing — Lowry finalized his current contract on July 7, 2017.
There has been no indication yet that the Raptors have discussed a new contract with Lowry this offseason or plan to do so before the season begins. Lowry’s $35MM expiring salary is one of several that the team will have off its books next summer, along with Marc Gasol ($25.6MM), Serge Ibaka ($23.3MM), and Fred VanVleet ($9.3MM). To maximize flexibility, Toronto may want to keep its 2020/21 cap sheet as clean as possible for now.
Still, if the price is right, I expect the Raptors to be open to extending their relationship with their starting point guard. Another $100MM commitment seems unlikely, but Lowry was one of the club’s most important players last season and remains productive at age 33.
As for the departure of the Raptors’ Finals MVP, Lowry conveyed no disappointment or frustration with Leonard’s decision. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com details, Lowry said he told his teammate, “I’m happy for you” when he heard the news of Kawhi’s move to the Clippers.
“I am happy for the guys that … especially a guy that helped do something fantastic and something great,” Lowry said. “He’s an unbelievable friend of mine and is a good guy. He made a decision to go home and he is happy with that and I am happy for him. Truly. I am genuinely happy for him. It gives him a chance to be around his family and friends. You got to respect the guy and be happy for him.”
I thought maybe Love in quotes was maybe a hint on them trading for Kevin Love.
How many “unbelievable friends” does Lowry have now? I thought DeRozan was his unbelievable best friend? Who will it be this year?
I know this may be a shock to someone like you, but people have more than one friend.
Savage
I’m a huge Lowry fan, his heart and hustle is undeniable. Unfortunately, his most consistent impact in the finals was heart and hustle plays, thus I could understand if the Raptors decided to go with a younger, more skilled and consistent option to sync up with Siakam in terms of age and pace. I’m not sure Fred is that, and next year’s free agency is lean, but perhaps a trade partner for all of those expiring contracts will emerge?
lowry is a good #3 guy but if you are looking for him to be your main playmaker then you are not going to get a ring IE why he and Demar could not get over the hump ,He would be great on LAL ,Phi or Mia though.
He’s an excellent defensive player that can set the table and hit open shots. That makes him an above average point guard.
If you look at his BPM last season, he was 11th in the league among PGs, just after Kemba Walker, just ahead of Chris Paul. Lowry’s contract is a bit of an overpay, but he’s a starting PG on more than half the teams in the league. Gotta be worth $20+.
Couldn’t have said it better.
Love— Kyle. Off all the players we have ever had, he is my number one choice to have his jersey retired. His lay it out on the line, do what ever to win is beyond approach.
I think Raps will move on from Lowry and go younger around Siakam after this year.
Could be. They will have lots of capspace, but there are few impactful FAs to spend it on.
You won’t have to wait very long to see the Raps go younger. That trend already started as evident by all their signings this off season. Not to mention it was already known that with or without Kawhi, the Raptors were going to make Siakam a focal point.
Lowry would be a really good signing this off season for a lot of teams trying to compete and need a 1 that can push them over the hump, but at 33 it’s hard to see him getting a big on long deal too. Could see the Pistons, TWolves and Heat all being interested in him. Think it’s better if the Raptors just wait on some offers on their expiring players like Ibaka and Gasol to see if they can swap expiring deals and get draft picks. Otherwise just start collecting young talent. Wiggins could be a player they go after, he’s from Canada, is more of a scorer which Toronto needs and could be interesting next to Siakim. They could also ask about Sexton, Bamba, Dunn and Hardaway to start their rebuild
If the Raps can get Lowry at $15M a year on a 2+1, do it. Anything more than that and it’s likely time to move on.
Problem is that with so few good FA’s next year, someone is likely to make Lowry an offer that the Raps shouldn’t match or beat.
He is the face of the franchise ever since Bosh left and now he’s got a ring for them. He certainly deserves the right to stay there and get paid. If he will sign for 2+1 for anything under $25 per year you give him the contract and still let Siakam become the focal point of the team.