Toronto Raptors: With Daryl Morey leading the 76ers, is Lowry a target?

Daryl Morey might be on the lookout for a former Point Guard of his and might give the Toronto Raptors a call.

Daryl Morey is set to run the Philadelphia 76ers basketball operations and given his track record, we may be on the verge of seeing some aggressive trades. So what does that mean for the Toronto Raptors? Most likely nothing, but there is probably one name that they might be attracted to, and that’s Kyle Lowry.

Why it makes sense for the 76ers

After this year’s playoff run, teams were able to see just the type of value Kyle Lowry brings to a team. He was a huge reason the Raptors even went to 7 Games and his performances he had in Game 6 was a performance for the ages.

The addition of Kyle Lowry on any competing team will make any team better, and with the 76ers in win-now mode, it wouldn’t be surprising if Morey phoned the Raptors to inquire more about the Philadelphia native.

Kyle Lowry will most likely not be their first choice, especially with Chris Paul being available. But with the CP3 contract and the 76ers lack of assets, a CP3 trade might be too difficult to execute. This is when Kyle Lowry would come in. The trade would almost certainly have to involve a third team unless the 76ers are packing one of Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid which is unlikely.

Why the Toronto Raptors would move away from Lowry

Lowry is 34, and if the Raptors were to run it back, I don’t see a world they’d beat a healthy 76ers, Bucks, Celtics, or Heat. So punting on this season and setting themselves up with cap space for 2021 and potentially signing Giannis Antetokounmpo might be their best alternative.

The upcoming season would be a sort of semi-rebuild and with Lowry’s value being as high as it is. Getting the most assets possible and sending Lowry to a contending team might benefit them the most in the long-run.

So in an ideal world, let’s say there is a third team here to absorb Horford’s contract and the trade is on the table. The assets the Raptors would most likely be interested in would be anywhere from a first-round pick to guys like Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton.

The Raptors would net themselves another first-rounder as well as developing a guy like Thybulle who’s defensive side has no ceiling.  They’d also be low salary guys who’d fill out the roster nicely during the year and give them a lot of flexibility.

There is certainly the possibility that Toronto wants to keep Lowry to help them better attract players for free agency or there’s always the small possibility that they just want Lowry to retire as a Raptors player.

Who knows, all we know for sure is that with gutsy people making the decisions in Philadelphia and Toronto now, anything can happen.