The NBA was quiet for many weeks following the James Harden trade, but with the rumor mill heating up this week, it looks increasingly like Kyle Lowry could be had. And as Brian Windhorst reported on The Hoop Collective podcast, the sweepstakes for Lowry are seen by NBA executives as a long-term endeavor, despite his expiring contract.
“The expectation is that Kyle Lowry will have a new contract by the end of this week,” Windhorst said, reiterating what he said a GM told him recently.
That will be either an agreement to stay in Toronto, or a deal with either the Sixers or the Heat after being traded. Windhorst later offered that the new contract would not necessarily be signed right away, but it would be part of the understanding around a potential deadline deal.
Windhorst went on to posit that with the expiring contracts of Kelly Olynyk and Andre Iguodala, this could be an opportunity for the Heat to cash in on their 2021 cap space now by trading for Lowry rather than pursuing him as an unrestricted free agent. But of course that means giving up at least one young player like Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson.
As Miami-based Five Reasons Sports reported, teams looking to trade for Lowry are expecting they will have to give him at least a two-year, $50 million extension after the deal, and that the Heat are willing to do so.
Per @5ReasonsSports: any team acquiring Kyle Lowry via trade — specifically MIA or PHI, the perceived front runners — must also be willing to offer Lowry at least a two-year deal worth $25 million annually. The Heat are willing to do so.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) March 23, 2021
From the Sixers’ perspective, some of the trade details would be the same. They could trade Danny Green and Mike Scott, both on expiring contracts, as well as young assets like Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey. That’s the type of move that could put Philly over the top in the NBA title chase.
As with the Andre Iguodala deal in 2020, the chase for Lowry is increasingly shaping up to be a multiple-year discussion rather than a rest-of-season swing for the fences.
