Kyle Lowry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Robinson, Lowry

April 18th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat center Bam Adebayo is listed as questionable for Game 2 against the Hawks on Tuesday due to a quad contusion, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. After being cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols, Adebayo finished Sunday’s game with six points, six rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. However, coach Erik Spoelstra said Adebayo played a giant role in the team’s victory, Vardon writes.

“Who (cares) about his scoring,” Spoelstra said. “Bam is an ultimate winner. A lot of what you guys are probably going to write about what we can do defensively; he’s the one that’s driving it. If you don’t have a guy like Bam, you know, it’s very difficult to do some of the schemes, and he fully understands that.”

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Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Suns guard Mikal Bridges and Celtics guard Marcus Smart were the finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award and Adebayo was upset he did not make the list, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Smart won the award and Adebayo finished fourth in the voting, receiving 13 out of 100 first-place votes. “Disrespectful, honestly,” he said. “I feel like I can do anything that two out of the three can do besides the fact that I can’t teach height. But they all three play on TV more than me, so I would expect that. They get more TV games and they get more exposure. People like to talk about them more. Nobody wants to talk about us. So it’s whatever at that point.”
Duncan Robinson, who scored 27 points in Game 1, admits it was tough to lose his starting job last month, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. “We’re all competitive,” said Robinson, who is in the first year of a five-year, $90MM contract. “I take a lot of pride in doing my job to the best of my ability. At the end of the day, there’s disappointment but you sacrifice and give in to what’s most important to this group. The focus quickly shifts to how can I embrace the role I do have and contribute to winning and help us advance?”
Kyle Lowry brought a championship pedigree from Toronto and knows how difficult it is to win a title, Vardon writes. “Me getting a championship just made me want another championship,” Lowry said. “It made me understand that it’s hard to get there. It takes some skill, it takes hard work, it takes some luck. It takes a lot of things to go your way to win a championship. I’ve lost a bunch of game 1s and won series. I won a couple Game 1s and lost the series. It’s just, you’ve got to be able to stay even keel no matter what.”

Southeast Notes: Heat, Young, Bridges, Wizards

April 17th, 2022 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

After being swept in the first round last season, the Heat added three players in free agency who have won championships, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. P.J. Tucker, who was part of the Bucks’ title team last season, Markieff Morris, who got a ring with the Lakers in 2020, and Kyle Lowry, who won with the Raptors in 2019, all brought plenty of playoff experience to Miami.

They joined a roster that includes Udonis Haslem, who has won three titles, and five other holdovers from the Heat team that reached the Finals in 2020. The experience and mental toughness needed to get to that level helped Miami emerge from a crowded field to grab the No. 1 seed in the East.

“It’s a high that you’re chasing,” Lowry said. “You want to get back to that high and you want to stay at that high. When you win one, you want that high right away. You want that high, it’s a high you can’t match. I’m just being honest. It’s still there, that fire is burning. I’m just chasing that high right now.”

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The Heat’s biggest challenge in the first round will be finding a way to control Hawks star Trae Young, Chiang adds. Miami typically uses a variety of defenders against Young and mixes up its coverages to make him less comfortable. “He’s one of the most dynamic point guards we have in our league now,” Lowry said. “You just have to know that he’s going to do some spectacular things. But we do have to wear on him, make things a little bit tougher, however that is.”
Miles Bridges wants to remain with the Hornets, but the team faces a lot of questions this summer about how to build its roster, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. There should be significant demand for Bridges, who will be a restricted free agent once Charlotte extends a $7.9MM qualifying offer, and the organization has to decide how many of its young players it wants to make a long-term investment in. “Charlotte has really taken me in and brought me in,” Bridges said. “I got drafted as a 20-year-old kid. And for me to grow up here and for everybody to embrace me like they have, that’s something I’ll never forget. Especially going into the contract season.”
Injuries were a year-long concern for the Wizards, but coach Wes Unseld Jr. believes the team has a solid foundation in place, per Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington. “Obviously the health factor is something that we can’t necessarily control, but if we come back healthy…I think we’re setting ourselves up for a pretty bright future,” Unseld Jr. said.

Raptors Notes: Playoffs, VanVleet, Trent Jr., Lowry

April 5th, 2022 at 10:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Following Cleveland’s loss to Orlando, the Raptors beat the Hawks by a score of 118-108 on Tuesday night, clinching a playoff berth as a top-six seed in the East, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. After the game, coach Nick Nurse indicated he would rest Fred VanVleet, who’s been hampered by a sore right knee since before the All-Star break.

“He obviously is not 100 percent but he’s lacing them up and giving everything he’s got…I give him a lot of credit,” Nurse said (Twitter link via Michael Grange of Sportsnet).

Nurse also suggested he’d rest other banged-up players in the final three games, Grange tweets. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports observes (via Twitter), one additional benefit of making the playoffs outright is the team will get an extra six days rest between the final regular season game and its first playoff game, which could be crucial for injured players like VanVleet and OG Anunoby (quad), among others.

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The Bulls fell to the Bucks on Tuesday, so the Raptors hold a one-game lead for the No. 5 seed in the East. Both teams have three games remaining, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker due to a better head-to-head record. Toronto closes its schedule with games against the Sixers, Rockets and Knicks, while Chicago faces the Celtics, Hornets and Wolves, per Lewenberg (Twitter link).
Gary Trent Jr. earned a couple of $75K bonuses recently — one for the team winning 45 games, and another for making the playoffs, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. If the Raptors finish as a top-five seed, Trent will earn another $75K bonus.
Toronto’s roster is undeniably influenced by Kyle Lowry, according to Lewenberg. Eric Koreen of The Athletic makes a similar point, stating that the team has been constructed in the spirit of Lowry. “They play hard every night,” Lowry said before Sunday’s game, his first in Toronto as a member of the Heat. “They’re all over the place. They scramble. They’re athletic. They help each other very well. They don’t give up much. They remind me a lot of just the team that, when we were down 15 in the fourth quarter, we find ways to win games, scrap and claw and find a way, and fight to win a game. That’s what these guys do. There’s never a moment where they just don’t feel like they can’t win the game.”

Eastern Notes: Hayward, Lowry, Barnes, Duarte, Porzingis

April 4th, 2022 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Incorporating Gordon Hayward back into the rotation is a tricky task for Hornets coach James Borrego, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer notes. Hayward missed nearly two months of action due to a foot injury. He had five points, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes against Philadelphia on Saturday.

“Well, it’s a challenge, but that’s my job and I’ll figure it out,” Borrego said. “We’ll take a look at the film, look at the rotations. We’ve got two days now to digest and figure out what we are going to do. … I’ll try to bring some consistency to the lineup and try to communicate that to our group, making sure everybody understands their role and what this rotation is going to look like moving forward.”

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Heat guard Kyle Lowry is impressed by the lottery pick his former team drafted, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Lowry sees Scottie Barnes as a potential franchise player for the Raptors. “He’s a special talent. He’s going to be a cornerstone of the franchise,” Lowry said. “He fits in perfectly here – how hard he plays, how passionate he is for the game. And he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Pacers rookie Chris Duarte won’t play during the final week of the season, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Duarte hasn’t played since March 15 due to a left big toe injury. Duarte, the 13th pick of last year’s draft, averaged 13.1 PPG in 28 MPG while appearing in 55 games.
The Wizards defeated Dallas on Friday, the first time Kristaps Porzingis played against his former team. Porzingis was grateful for the intensity his new teammates showed, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. “What I liked is everybody had my back (Friday),” Porzingis said. “They knew it was, I don’t want to say a personal game, but it’s always fun to compete against your former team. Everybody had my back.”

Raptors Notes: Lowry, Nurse, Playoff Rotation, VanVleet

April 2nd, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before returning to Toronto for the first time since signing with the Heat during the offseason, Kyle Lowry wrote a piece for The Players Tribune expressing gratitude to the fans who cheered him during his nine seasons with the Raptors. Sunday night’s game will mark Lowry’s first time in Scotiabank Arena since February 28, 2020, as that season concluded at Disney World and the Raptors played their home games in Tampa, Florida, last year.

In his article, Lowry details the phone call he made to team president Masai Ujiri to break the news that he was leaving and tells Toronto fans that he’s “excited as hell” to play in front of them again.

“I’m excited to be on a court with (Fred VanVleet) and Pascal (Siakam) and OG (Anunoby) again — if Masai is big bro, then those are my little bros, and they’re the guys now, they’re taking over,” Lowry wrote. “And I’m excited to experience that energy of Toronto basketball again. But I also think it might just be a normal night in some ways, you know what I mean? Because regardless of the jersey I’m wearing, a lot still hasn’t changed … and won’t ever change. It’s never going to be a wrap between me and this city. With family, it’s never goodbye.”

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Lowry played a vital role in reviving the franchise, but the Raptors couldn’t have taken the next step in their development without him leaving, argues Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Lowry’s departure provided an opportunity for Siakam to become the primary ball-handler and it created a full-time role for rookie Scottie Barnes, who is seeing some of his 35 minutes per night at point guard. “We knew we were going to be losing a big leader,” coach Nick Nurse said, “… but for some of the guys that have been around here long enough, we needed them to understand they are the leaders of the team, and it’s up to them to perform and act like that.”
The Raptors’ recent hot streak gives Nurse the freedom to experiment with his rotation ahead of the playoffs, Grange adds in a separate story. In Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota, Precious Achiuwa, who’s shooting over 40% from three-point range since the All-Star break, started the second half in place of Barnes and provided a lot more spacing for the offense.
Lowry may be on hand to watch VanVleet break one of his franchise records, per Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. With 236 three-pointers, VanVleet is only three behind Lowry’s single-season mark.

Southeast Notes: Hayward, Lowry, Bryant, Wizards

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Gordon Hayward cleared the league’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). He didn’t travel with the team to Boston on Wednesday due to reconditioning and is listed as questionable to play against Cleveland on Friday.

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Kyle Lowry has rejoined the Heat, as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald noted on Wednesday. Lowry had missed the last nine games due to personal reasons. He returned to the starting lineup on Thursday against San Antonio but had a rough night. He had two points and six turnovers, though Miami prevailed by 17 points.
Wizards center Thomas Bryant sprained his right ankle against Milwaukee on Tuesday and didn’t play against Philadelphia on Wednesday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. His status for the team’s upcoming five-game homestand has yet to be determined.
In a story regarding the trade deadline, Hughes confirms the Wizards have shown interest in acquiring the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis and Pistons’ Jerami Grant. Hughes explores how they might fit in the lineup with Bradley Beal. He also hears that Montrezl Harrell and Davis Bertans are the two Washington players most likely to be dealt.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Butler, Lowry, Tucker, Bogdanovic

January 27th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bradley Beal is showing signs of irritation with the Wizards’ recent play. Beal made it clear he feels that if the Wizards end up in the play-in tournament, he’d view it as a step back, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Beal has not signed an extension and holds an option on his contract for next season. He hinted that how the team finishes might impact his future plans.

“I don’t want to be a play-in team. I don’t think anybody in our organization wants to be a play-in team,” he said to NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller. “And I think so from that standpoint, I’m not alone in that thinking. I think we all know that we can be better than a play-in team. And we’ve obviously got to put in the work and do that. But I mean, I feel like that’s a step back in a lot of ways and we’re trying to proceed forward and that’s kind of either staying the same as last year or not making any progress at all. And so, that plays a factor into (his future plans).”

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Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable for the Heat‘s game on Friday’ against the Clippers because of left big toe irritation, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Butler had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes against the Knicks on Wednesday. Kyle Lowry will be out for a sixth straight game because of personal reasons and there’s no definitive timetable for the point guard’s return.
Heat forward P.J. Tucker, who holds a $7.4MM player option on his contract for 2022/23, plans to play beyond next season, he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “Two or three (years) is easy. My question is do I want to go past five,” Tucker said. “Next three or four will be easy. If we go past three or four, then we start talking.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s knee held up well after his return to action on Wednesday, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Bogdanovic had 18 points and seven assists in 23 minutes for the Hawks against Sacramento after missing nearly two weeks. He was moving well in practice on Thursday. “It feels good. He’s moving good,” coach Nate McMillan said. “He said he came out of the game OK last night.”

Heat Notes: Herro, Silva, Oladipo, Vincent, Lowry

January 25th, 2022 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat guard Tyler Herro has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who tweets that Herro was in attendance at the team’s practice on Tuesday. Herro initially entered the protocols last Wednesday and has missed Miami’s last three games.

The Heat haven’t released their injury report yet for Wednesday’s contest vs. New York, so it’s unclear if Herro will be reactivated for that game or if he’ll need a little more reconditioning time. Either way, it’s good news for the Heat that they no longer have any players in the COVID-19 protocols.

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Assuming Herro is able to play on Wednesday and no other players enter the health and safety protocols, the Heat will have to make forward Chris Silva ineligible for the rest of his 10-day contract, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Silva is on a hardship deal and can only be active if at least one Miami player is in the protocols. His contract runs through Sunday night.
Victor Oladipo, who is still recovering from quad surgery, moved around well on the Heat’s practice court on Tuesday, taking part in a “vigorous” workout and running without a limp, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson suggests there’s a chance Oladipo could make his Heat debut in February. “He’s itching to get back,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “… We’ll see what happens. He’s starting to be at practice more and more. We’re starting to hear his voice and he’s starting to get opportunities to run in transition. When he’s able to suit up, it’s going to be a big day for all of us.”
There was some concern entering the season about whether the Heat had sufficient depth at point guard behind Kyle Lowry, but Gabe Vincent has proven capable of handling the position despite having previously played more of a combo guard or shooting guard role. “He has improved as much as anybody as I’ve ever seen, seriously, in my entire career. I really mean that, too,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said of Vincent, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I remember playing against him in the G League and honestly he kind of played like me. Catch-and-shoot and shooting threes. Obviously, he still shoots it at a high level. But he just does everything. He passes, he defends, he makes all those little plays in between. He’s just a guy that you love to play with, he really is.”
Lowry, who has missed the Heat’s last four games, remains away from the club for personal reasons, tweets Jackson, so Vincent is expected to continue starting at point guard.

Southeast Notes: Bridges, Wizards, Beal, Lowry, Chalmers

January 17th, 2022 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Miles Bridges met the “starter criteria” on Friday when he appeared in Charlotte’s starting lineup for the 41st time this season. The starter criteria applies to players who are eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, and dictates the amount of their qualifying offer. By meeting the criteria, Bridges ensured his qualifying offer will increase to $7,921,300.

The amount of Bridges’ qualifying offer probably won’t have much of an impact on his free agency. He’s having a breakout season and is a good bet to be paid in excess of $20MM per year on his next contract, so accepting his one-year QO likely won’t be an option he seriously considers, even now that it’s worth a little more.

Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate also met the starter criteria on Friday by making his 41st start of the season, but Houston holds a minimum-salary team option on Tate for the 2022/23 season, so he won’t reach restricted free agency until ’23, assuming he’s not extended before then.

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The Wizards announced today that Pat Delany, who was serving as the team’s acting head coach while Wes Unseld Jr. is in the COVID-19 protocols, has entered the protocols himself. Assistant Joseph Blair, Washington’s new acting head coach, told reporters that star guard Bradley Beal has exited the protocols and will be a game-time decision on Monday (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).
In an article for The Athletic, Robbins and David Aldridge discussed the Wizards‘ needs and identified some possible trade targets for the team, including Jerami Grant, Harrison Barnes, and Thaddeus Young.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry won’t face his old team for the first time on Monday after all, having been ruled out of Miami’s game vs. Toronto for personal reasons, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Veteran guard Mario Chalmers admitted he was disappointed not to play at all during his recent 10-day stint with the Heat, but said he didn’t want to be a “disruption” for the team and is looking forward to proving with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, that he deserves another shot at the NBA level. “Hopefully another 10-day comes out of it and I get signed for the rest of the year,” Chalmers said, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Florida Notes: Chalmers, Knight, Bam, Lowry, Magic

January 16th, 2022 at 4:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran point guard Mario Chalmers, fresh off a 10-day hardship exception contract with the Heat, has joined the club’s NBAGL affiliate club, the Sioux Fall Skyforce, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Chalmers will be able to sign his next NBA contract with any team. Winderman adds that veteran point guard Brandon Knight, who enjoyed a more active 10-day hardship exception stint while with the Mavericks, has also rejoined the Skyforce.

Chalmers, 35, did not appear in an actual game during his Heat return stint. He has not played in an NBA contest since appearing in 66 games during the 2017/18 season while on the Grizzlies. The 6’2″ vet served as the starting point guard for Miami’s two most recent championship teams, during the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. In three games with Dallas, Knight, who went to high school in Fort Lauderdale, averaged 10.0 PPG on 45% field goal shooting, along with 2.7 APG and 2.3 RPG.

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Sixth Man of the Year candidate Tyler Herro could get fairly pricey should the Heat want to offer him a contract extension when he becomes eligible this summer, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson examines the impact a lucrative Herro deal would have on the club’s long-term payroll, and what it could mean for the team’s future tax payments. The 6’5″ reserve shooting guard, 22, is enjoying his best season as a pro during his third year with Miami, averaging a career-best 20.6 PPG and 4.1 APG, along with 4.9 RPG and 0.6 SPG. He boasts shooting splits of .428/.388/.870.
Heat center Bam Adebayo‘s teammates are excited for the big man to possibly make his return this week, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. The 6’9″ big man, an All-Star in 2020, continues to recuperate from a thumb injury and is on track to play on Monday vs. Toronto. He has played in just 18 games this year, having last suited up on November 29. Chiang adds that veteran starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who has played at a borderline All-Star level with his new team, is ready to face off against his last NBA club, the Raptors, for the first time since departing in a sign-and-trade deal this summer. Lowry, 35, was a six-time All-Star with Toronto.
Healthy young Magic players were encouraged by the recent bench presence of several injured teammates, who traveled with the club during a recent 1-2 three-game road stint, writes Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. “Once we get everybody healthy, we’re going to build something special over here,” second-year point guard Cole Anthony noted, a somewhat optimistic projection for the team with the worst record in the NBA (8-36). Pricey power forward Jonathan Isaac, who has been out with a torn ACL since August 2020, traveled with the team for the first time since his injury. The 24-year-old recently took part in a team shootaround, along with injured guards Markelle Fultz, Michael Carter-Williams and E’Twaun Moore, but has yet to take contact. Rookie guard Jalen Suggs, the fifth pick in the 2021 draft, was available for two games during the road swing, his first contests with the club since being sidelined by a thumb fracture on November 29.