Kyle Lowry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Notes: Lowry, Casey, Patterson

May 5th, 2014 at 11:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Kyle Lowry made his affection for the Raptors clear today in speaking to reporters, including Michael Grange of SportsNet, saying, “I love this situation, it’s as simple as that.” That’s as definitive a statement as the soon-to-be free agent has made about Toronto, in Grange’s eyes (Twitter links). Lowry also made note of his enjoyment of playing alongside DeMar DeRozan, who’s on a long-term deal with the Raptors, as Grange observes (on Twitter). Still, while the Raptors appear to have a strong chance of keeping him around, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gets the sense that his free agency won’t be an open-and-shut case (Twitter link). Here’s more from Toronto:

Lowry says he’s sure coach Dwane Casey will be back, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. The “expectation around town” is that Casey, whose contract is up, will receive an extension of at least two years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Patrick Patterson intends to explore his opportunities in restricted free agency, but he referred to Toronto today as the best of his three NBA stops, Wolstat notes (Twitter links).
We passed along that the Raptors are considering a run at Vince Carter in an earlier post.

And-Ones: Lowry, Noah, Warriors, Celtics

May 4th, 2014 at 10:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Shortly after losing to the Nets in Game 7, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry gave a quote in the locker room that could be a hint towards his offseason plans. “This is only the start for us and the Raptors organization,” said the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (on Twitter). Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

Joakim Noah is reportedly trying to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls and he’s no stranger to that game, notes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The big man took free agent Carlos Boozer out to dinner during his visit to Chicago and helped lure him in during the 2010 offseason.
Determining coach Mark Jackson‘s future with the Warriors won’t be an easy call, writes Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
In his final individual report card for the Celtics‘ season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. evaluates the players that didn’t end the season in green and white: Jordan Crawford, Courtney Lee, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, and Vander Blue.
Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann told colleague Chris Mannix (on Twitter) that if Clippers owner Donald Sterling files a lawsuit, “it will not be resolved by the start of the season.”

And-Ones: Warriors, Constitution, Sterling

April 30th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Jackson strongly denied a report that said he asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend most practices or team activities, USA Today’s Sam Amick writes.

“That’s a lie,” Jackson said. “Come on. That’s a lie. That’s disrespectful.”

West has indeed been attending practice of late, a source confirms to Amick, though the “wide and strong” belief is that Jackson would prefer West not be over his shoulder. Here’s more from around the league that uses West’s likeness in its logo:

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders takes a look at a few of the intriguing clauses in the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws, which the league released for the first time in light of its use in the punishment of Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
The NBA’s advisory/finance committee will hold a conference call Thursday to begin the process of arranging a vote to take the Clippers away from Sterling, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details.
Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke isn’t worried about the notion of Kyle Lowry and coach Dwane Casey walking away this summer when their contracts expire, as he said on SportsNet 590 The Fan, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here?” Leiweke said.
Bulls GM Gar Forman has yet to begin negotiations with Nikola Mirotic but he’s confident that the European star will play for the Bulls at some point, as Forman told reporters today, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Green, Lowry, Knicks, ‘Melo

April 23rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The lone Atlantic Division representatives in the playoffs are duking it out in what’s become a compelling series, with the Raptors saving themselves from an 0-2 hole in Tuesday’s night’s victory against the Nets. While we wait for Friday’s Game 3, here’s the latest from around the Atlantic:

No one on the Celtics is guaranteed to return next season, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, who takes stock of each player’s chances of coming back. Jeff Green is “eminently available” for a trade, according to Murphy.
Kyle Lowry will surely have plenty of offers to leave the Raptors in free agency this summer, but he’s enjoying Toronto’s revival this season, telling reporters, including Fred Kerber of the New York Post, “I love my team and I’ll tell anybody that.” (Twitter link).
Phil Jackson is surprised that so many have expressed interest in the Knicks head coaching job even though he wants to institute the triangle, as he said today to reporters, including Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
Jackson appears comfortable with the idea of watching Carmelo Anthony leave this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv believes, judging by the Zen Master’s willingness to make Anthony follow through on his idea of playing for less than the max.
Connecticut point guard and Massachusetts native Shabazz Napier spoke about his dreams of playing for the Celtics, but it’s unlikely that the Celtics will be in position to draft him in June, observes Brian Robb of Boston.com.

Atlantic Notes: Woodson, ‘Melo, Lowry, Nets

April 16th, 2014 at 4:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mike Woodson has had little contact with Knicks president Phil Jackson, and a source close to the coach believes he knows he’ll be fired, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Woodson’s assistants have been given no assurances of their future, and if Woodson is fired, all but Herb Williams seem certain to lose their jobs, too, Isola adds. With a coaching change seemingly on the horizon, here’s more on the Knicks and their Atlantic Division rivals:

Carmelo Anthony‘s longtime teammate J.R. Smith isn’t worried about the prospect that ‘Melo will head elsewhere and is confident he’ll re-sign with the Knicks this summer, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com observes.
The Raptors are so deep into plans to move forward with soon-to-be free agent Kyle Lowry on the roster next season that Lowry would be “derailing the train” if he were to sign elsewhere, writes Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail.
Shaun Livingston, also set to hit free agency, will be a priority for the Nets this summer, and he hasn’t been disappointed with his experience in Brooklyn, as Dave D’Alessandro of NJ.com notes. “I like where I’m at, let’s put it that way,” Livingston said. “This year’s been everything I could have asked for.”

And-Ones: Knicks, Wolves, Draft

April 11th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks won tonight but their playoff chances took a hit when the Hawks also were victorious, reducing their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one. New York has had its share of issues this season, but the one that sunk the team the most was the trade for Andrea Bargnani, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Besides acquiring his large and difficult to trade contract, the team could have potentially used the 2016 first rounder they gave up for Bargnani in a deal for the Raptors Kyle Lowry, writes Berman.

Raptors Notes: De Colo, Lowry, Thomas

April 5th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Raptors are looking to secure the third seed in the East after missing the last five postseasons. They’re currently tied with the Bulls, but they’ll have the opportunity to gain some ground in their matchup versus the Bucks tonight. Here’s the latest out of Toronto:

Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun thinks that the Raptors will bring back Nando De Colo next season “for cheap.” De Colo will become a restricted free agent if Toronto extends the $1.8MM qualifying offer.
Wolstat also relays comments from Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who expressed his wishes for Toronto to re-sign Kyle Lowry this offseason. “That’s the front office. That’s their paycheck. I would if I was general manager of a team. But that’s their decision,” said Casey. “Kyle has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s helped put us in this position with this team. He’s grown, he’s matured, and that’s huge as far as we’re concerned.”
Isiah Thomas ranked as the best drafting GM since 1989 in Tom Haberstroh of ESPN’s latest Insider piece, due in large part to the selections he made during his time with Raptors. Thomas was responsible for picking Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, and Tracy McGrady.

Cray Allred contributed to this this post.

And-Ones: Pacers, Lowry, Raptors, Magic

April 4th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pacers started the season 41-13, but since the trade that brought Evan Turner to Indiana, the team has gone 12-11, and not looked at all like a championship contender, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com. It’s not all Turner’s fault, opines Kaskey-Blomain, and in the article he breaks down what has gone wrong for the team.

Raptors CEO Says Team Will Re-Sign Kyle Lowry

April 4th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment group that owns the Raptors, answered affirmatively when CBC TV host George Stroumboulopoulos asked him whether the team can and will re-sign point guard Kyle Lowry (video link; scroll ahead to 5:50 mark). The point guard is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, and ever since the team came close to trading him to the Knicks in December, there’s been little certainty about Toronto’s plans. Leiweke’s answers today offer the strongest indication yet that Toronto intends to retain Lowry.

“There’s a really special bond between [GM] Masai [Ujiri] and Kyle,” Leiweke said. “This town should be in love with this guy. What a great story. He’s vented that anger and energy that he had last year, and it was sometimes aimed at the refs, sometimes aimed at other people. He’s figured out how to vent that and put that into the team, and this team truly loves each other.”

When the Knicks made an unsuccessful attempt to circle back and trade for Lowry at the deadline, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports pegged Lowry’s market value at more than $11MM a year. The Rockets also sought a deadline deal for him, and it’s clear that the ASM Sports client will be one of the most sought-after free agents on the market this summer after a strong performance this season.

The Raptors have Lowry’s Bird rights and only about $39MM in commitments for next season, so they appear to have the resources necessary to bring him back. Still, Lowry can choose his destination, and Toronto has never been a free agent mecca. The 28-year-old is having his finest season, averaging 17.4 points and 7.6 assists per game with a 19.9 PER for a Toronto team tied for third place in the Eastern Conference. Just how far the Raptors get in the playoffs may go a long way in convincing Lowry whether to stay.

Western Notes: Lakers, Suns, Lowry, Jordan

March 19th, 2014 at 9:57pm CST by Alex Lee

The NBA has parameters in place to ensure the relationship between Lakers president Jeanie Buss and now-Knicks president Phil Jackson doesn’t become an issue, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Shelburne the following: “The Knicks’ hiring of Phil Jackson is subject to the league’s conflict of interest rules. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, we have addressed the issue with the Knicks and Lakers to ensure that the relationship between Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson will not affect how the teams operate.”

We heard yesterday that Buss recently met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on this very topic. Shelburne followed up on Twitter, adding that Buss and Silver had similar conversations last year when Jackson considered working for Toronto or a new Seattle franchise. In short, because Buss’ role with the Lakers is on the business side, the league approves, Shelburne says, an explanation that agrees with what we heard from Buss earlier today.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on out west:

In an interview with Zach Lowe of Grantland, Goran Dragic conceded that he was baffled this offseason when he heard the Suns acquired Eric Bledsoe, but his agent and Suns’ management swiftly assured him that the team envisioned an all-point guard backcourt not unlike the early ’90s Phoenix duo of Kevin Johnson and (current head coach) Jeff Hornacek.
Two seasons after shipping him to Toronto, Daryl Morey unsuccessfully attempted to bring Kyle Lowry back to the Rockets at the trade deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Villanova product, who also nearly ended up in New York, is playing his way into a big-time contract this summer, when Lowry becomes a free agent. We heard earlier tonight that he could be a fit in Dallas.
A lot of the credit for DeAndre Jordan‘s progression with the Clippers should go to Doc Rivers, writes Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated. Rivers, in his first year with the Clips, did his homework on the talented but underacheiving center prior to arriving in Los Angeles, and the results have been more than encouraging.