Kyle Lowry chose the Heat in free agency because they felt he “could move the needle” for them in pursuit of a championship, he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated.
The Heat worked out a sign-and-trade with the Raptors in which Lowry received a three year deal worth approximately $85MM.
“This is my first year here, but it was the situation where I feel like they wanted to move the needle,” Lowry said. “They wanted to find a way to move the needle and no matter what my age is, I’m still able to move the needle. I’m still playing at a high level. My job is to make everybody else better, to make our team better.”
Thus far, Lowry is averaging 12.0 PPG and 7.6 APG in his first season with Miami.
Lowry offered up some other insights and revelations in his interview with Spears:
- There were some family considerations in his decision to play with the Heat: “It was very bittersweet because I never wanted to leave (the Raptors). But it was more a sense of: ‘All right, my kids are getting older. I want to be somewhere where they can be stable no matter what.’ And, yeah, everybody says you could just live in Canada, but you’d have to get a Canadian citizenship to live there. And I don’t think I would’ve lived there for the rest of my life.”
- He considers Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam “family” and is glad they’ve become the faces of the Toronto franchise: “They will get more of the attention now. I would take all the blame because I wanted to. I never wanted them to have to deal with that stuff, because I just felt I could take the world on my shoulders. And they can, too, but now it’s theirs. I left the franchise in a great place.”
- The desire to win a second NBA championship drives him: “I love my ring, but I want to have another one. I want to be able to wear two of them. I’ve got an [Olympic] gold medal. It was a great feeling. I got an NBA championship. I need to get back to that.”
- Regardless of what happens in Miami, Lowry wants to be remembered as the Raptors point guard on their championship team: “I’ll say it now, I will sign a one-day contract and I’ll retire as a Toronto Raptor. That is my everything.”
I always liked Lowry, I really wish the Rockets hadn’t traded him when they hired McHale (apparently they didn’t get along). Lowry and Harden would have given them a really good backcourt, but we’ll never know. I hope Kyle does well in Miami.
I remember being mind boggled at why he wasnt playing in multiple places, not even just Houston. That was the time period where Houston and Phoenix kept trading Aaron Brooks and Goran Dragic back and forth with each other, and they had a bunch of guards.
Houston would have been better never knowing Mr Brooks indeed
Potentially no harden if they don’t trade kyle since the pick (Adams) sent for kyle was used in the garden trade.
Butterfly effect
Finally having a guard that can defend, like Lowry, is a huge reason they have looked good. Lowry just does so much. He allows them to use certain lineups they otherwise couldn’t, with more shooters on the floor, b/c he is so great defensively. He is especially great for Herro. I’ve always been a big fan, but I’ve seen him do some things defensively that I’m not sure if I’ve noticed before. He is godlike at closing out, and his recovery and ability to guard multiple people in a single possession are really impressive. That’s probably why he has been one of the best 2 way guards in the league for a long time now
Mr K-Low, you were a good player, but even at your pick you didn’t move the needle, now, well if it moves it ain’t in the right direction, I am afraid to say!
Tell me you’re a casual fan without telling me you’re a casual fan
Come on El Don, dude went to six straight All Star games and was the second best player (and team leader) of a Championship team.
While I’m not a Raptors fan (started watching NBA way before they existed) I live the the Greater Toronto Area. I can tell you with certainty, this is the player that turned around the on court product in the mid-2010’s here. Every loss was on him, every win was the teams. Every charge taken was a badge of honour. Lived for the team, and the fact that Ujiri took back a package that he really could have done better than with other teams to get Lowry to his preferred destination shows how much the team respected him.
He only cares about scoring, and empty scoring, and guys that are considered good by perception
Lowry should move the little needle on the scale back. He’s fat
He looks in better shape than usual this year…if he didnt, the Heat wouldnt have taken him