Raptors guard Kyle Lowry will join a significant mix of free agent point guards entering unrestricted free agency on July 1, a date that’s now less than two weeks away.
Names such as Chris Paul, George Hill, Jeff Teague and Jrue Holiday will be taking meetings with other teams, which means Toronto — should it lose Lowry — has several Plan B options to help make up for it.
There hasn’t been much noise of this potentially happening until now, with a new piece being published by Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star on Monday evening. The content included in the article is anything but positive news for Raptors fans:
Still, things can change. That’s what Ujiri is facing. Even if the organization did manage to make a deal for a big-time player, Kyle Lowry is a free agent, and multiple league sources say the all-star point guard has been grumbling about dissatisfaction with the Raptors for months. As of mid-May other teams were being told Lowry had “zero interest” in returning to Toronto, even if the Raptors offered a maximum five-year deal. Which since the club had no intention of offering a five-year deal probably made Lowry’s declaration easier to make.
But again: things change. West in L.A. may increase the likelihood Paul re-signs with the Clippers rather than goes to San Antonio, but San Antonio is said not to be interested in Lowry. Philadelphia’s draft move means they can draft dynamic guard Markelle Fultz, which closes a door on the 76ers pursuing Lowry. Which, for the record, was always considered a bit of a fan dance by plugged-in NBA sources.
Which means Lowry’s possible destinations are dwindling, if he wants to win and get paid. Lowry is prone to dramatic outbursts anyway, and the organization is used to it by now. Last week he gave an interview to TSN 1050 in which he said, “I love this city, everything about this city . . . I think everything about Toronto has been as positive or better than other NBA cities.” The team would prefer Lowry be less of a pain in the ass. But the prospect that LeBron could leave Cleveland? Well, accommodations can be made to paper over Lowry’s grumbling, once again, if need be.
