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Toronto Raptors: Should Kyle Lowry Retire as a Raptor?

By Joseph Zita

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 15: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors shoots a free throw during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 15, 2020 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 15: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors shoots a free throw during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 15, 2020 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Raptors have a great player in Kyle Lowry on their team right now, however, after next season, he is in need of another contract.

The Toronto Raptors have a potential future Hall of Famer on their team right now in Kyle Lowry, however, at the end of this season, the 3-year deal he signed back at the start of the 2017/18 season will be coming to an end.

He and Masai Ujiri then agreed to terms and locked Kyle up for another year past the 2019/20 season, which means he’ll be with the Toronto Raptors during the 2020/21 season.

Question is, what will the future hold for him after the 2020/21 season? Will he retire? Will he be traded during the season? Sign somewhere else in the 2021 free agency? Or will he sign another contract extension with the team he won a championship with?

Kyle Lowry Stats

Like I said earlier Kyle Lowry is a potential future Hall of Famer and he’s had quite a consistent career and he just added a championship to his resume last year. So let’s go over his career stats as well as his stats from this past season.

2019-20 stats – 52 GP – 19.7 PPG – 4.8 RPG – 7.7 APG – .417 FG% – .354 3P% – .861 FT%

Career stats – 908 GP – 14.7 PPG – 4.3 RPG – 6.2 APG – .423 FG% – .366 3P% – .809 FT%

This was a great season for Lowry, on a team where they lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in free agency they needed everyone to have that next man up mentality, and that’s exactly what they did.

Lowry increased his PPG this year from the past two years as it was well below 20 PPG during the 2017/18 season and the 2018/19 season. (Stats from Basketball-Reference.com)

What Lowry has Done With the Raptors

On top of his lengthy career with the Toronto Raptors, he also has a decent resume with the team as well. With being in the NBA for 15 years, he’s been with the Raptors for more than half of that time (8 seasons) and that is where the majority of his accomplishments took place.

Let’s go over his resume with the Toronto Raptors, for starters, he’s played over 500 games for the franchise and here is the rest of his accomplishments.

  • 2019 NBA Champion
  • 2016 All NBA Third Team
  • 2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020 NBA All-Star
  • 2x NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month
  • 4x NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week
  • Toronto Raptors All-Time leader in assists
  • Toronto Raptors All-Time leader in triple-doubles
  • Toronto Raptors leader in three-point field goals in a season (13/14 season)
  • George Gross Sportsman of the Year award

I don’t know about you but in my eyes, that is pretty good for not being known as a bona fide superstar in this league.

Could Lowry Return to the Raptors After the 2020/21 season?

Like I said earlier about Kyle Lowry’s contract situation he is currently under contract for next season (2020/21) however that doesn’t mean he’ll remain on the team until after the trade deadline for sure. There could be the possibility of the Toronto Raptors trading him at the 2021 trade deadline to get some assets for a playoff run or the more logical side, in my opinion, just to keep him past the deadline and burn out his contract until the end of the season.

Now I could see the Toronto Raptors keeping Kyle Lowry past the 2020/21 season under one condition… he takes a major pay-cut which I think he will more than likely do. Currently, on the last year of his 3 year deal he’s making $33.3M, next season on his new one year deal he’ll be making $30M, so if he returns to the team for the 2021/22 season I could see him make way less than $30M to give the Raptors more cap space to sign someone let’s say by the name of maybe Giannis Antetokounmpo or someone else to build around or at least help out Siakam by bringing in a superstar or at least a very talented player.

If Lowry is willing to take major pay-cuts as the older he gets while remaining on the Toronto Raptors, I’m all for it and I think the Toronto Raptors should do it too. Basically what I’m saying is, Kyle Lowry should remain a Raptor and retire as a Toronto Raptor, as he definitely deserves to retire as one too. (Stats from Spotrac.com)

Next. The Kyle Lowry Story (The Disruptor). dark

What do you think the Toronto Raptors should do with Kyle Lowry after his next season’s contract expires? Do you think he should remain a Toronto Raptor and retire as one as well, or is it best to get rid of him at the 2021 deadline or just let him walk in 2021 free agency.

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