
Getty Image
Kyle Lowry will opt out of his contract with the Raptors and become a free agent this summer, making him one of the top point guards on the market. Lowry can command a substantial salary if he re-signs with Toronto (five years, $205 million) compared to what he can get if he signs a max deal elsewhere (four years, $152 million). The Raptors have said they will pursue Lowry this offseason, but it remains to be seen whether they are willing to commit a full max deal to him, which would tie up over $300 million for the next four years of DeMar DeRozan and five years of Lowry in the backcourt.
Should Toronto not present Lowry with a max offer or the full five-year deal, he will likely have plenty of suitors for his services on the open market. Behind Steph Curry and Chris Paul – both expected to re-sign with their current teams – Lowry is the best of the rest that includes Jrue Holiday, George Hill, and Jeff Teague. Lowry insisted that winning is the most important thing to him, but anyone that’s followed professional sports in the free agency era knows that money speaks the loudest.
Among the teams that could come with strong offers to try and pry Lowry away from the Raptors are the Philadelphia 76ers. According to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, there is mutual interest between the two sides for a potential homecoming for Lowry, a former Villanova standout who grew up and currently resides in the Philadelphia area.
Sources have said the North Philly native has been interested in playing for the Sixers for some time. The speculation only heightened once Bryan Colangelo became the president of basketball operations in April 2016. As the Raptors general manager, Colangelo acquired Lowry in a trade from the Houston Rockets on July 11, 2012. The two have remained good friends since then.
And sources have always said that the Sixers planned to offer Lowry a lucrative contract this summer.
As a Raptors fan, I was wondering when this would come up. Considering he has gotten better and exceeded expectations to date, I see why the Raptors want to keep him. I gotta admit though, I don’t think the Raptors can go much further with him. I think Corey Joseph can handle starters minutes. I’d prefer to see the Raptors secure Ibaka and Tucker and try get more use out of Powell in the rotation. If any of their youngs show some improvement they should be fine.
I always felt they should have trade DeRozan last year…he is limited on both ends, he doesn’t make his team better and his style of scoring eats up the clock and offensive flow with Zero 3s…I’d keep Lowry and trade high on DeRozan for a young wing or PF. Would you take Blake/Crawford from LAC for DeRozan/Wright/Patterson for Raptors…
Like Lowry, but not for max money…that is throwing away your future on a guy that is injury prone, smallish and has a stink of playoff failure following him around. I think he could definitely help and be a force for the young squad, but he isn’t CP3 type leader or playmaker…I just wouldn’t give him a contract longer than 3 years, but the 20mill plus is too much for him at this stage