Toronto Raptors: Five moves the Raptors should make this off-season
By Jason Mills
The Raptors should not trade Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry has aged like a fine wine with the Toronto Raptors. There have been rough spots along the way in his eight years in Toronto. However, he has reached legendary status as a Raptors’ fan favorite.
He is not a flashy player, nor is he a top-five talent in the NBA. What he is is a six-time NBA All-Star (all as a Raptor) and the heart and soul of the Toronto Raptors franchise. It would be a gut punch to rip him out of the lineup before he is either unwilling or incapable of playing in a Raptors uniform.
At age 33, he just completed a season in which he averaged 19.4 points and 7.5 assists per game. He will earn 30 million next season. For the Toronto Raptors to remain competitive, it’s not required that Kyle Lowry stay a member of the roster. Still, it certainly wouldn’t hurt the team chemistry and identity since the Raptors’ smallest player on the court is also their most ferocious competitor.
His unceremonious and unnecessary removal from the roster would be heart-wrenching to the fanbase and the team. Management would be removing much more than a 33-year-old player and 30 million from the roster if they traded him. Yet, conventional wisdom suggests handing the point guard position to Fred VanVleet, and moving on from an aging Kyle Lowry is a viable option.
The trouble with that reasoning is that Kyle Lowry’s value to Toronto may be higher to them than to any other team, and the amount received in return could be disappointing.