Toronto Raptors: The wheel of potential Kyle Lowry destinations

The 2020-21 season has finally come to a close, and with it the eighth year of Kyle Lowry’s contractual obligations to the Toronto Raptors. Drafted in 2006 and logging over 30,000 career minutes, the 35-year-old Lowry is still far from washed up.

He’s still one of the 10 or so best point guards in the world today, and while he won’t be signing anything close to the $90 million contract he earned last time, he still has enough value for one more big payday before it is all said and done.

There’s been a lot of speculation about Lowry staying in Toronto or moving on to another team. The greatest Raptor in franchise history has given more of himself to this city than perhaps any other basketball player ever has, but you can’t blame Lowry for wanting to jump ship from a sub-500. team entering a rebuild.

Lowry wants what anyone would want in this situation. He sees the end of his career on the horizon, and he wants to make the very most of the years he has left. He loves this city, he loves the Raptors and their fans, but if he wants to spend his final years in the NBA playing meaningful minutes for a contending team then he probably shouldn’t re-sign in Toronto.

Kyle Lowry might leave the Toronto Raptors.

Rather than have him just sign somewhere else and get nothing in return, Masai Ujiri would be able to execute a trade for Lowry and get back some young assets and cap fillers.

Looking back on this past trade deadline and you can see why it would be beneficial for all parties involved. By waiting until they could sign Lowry to a more affordable contract, the Raptors opened the doors for every contender out there.

Those contenders now don’t have to worry about absorbing a $30 million deal, and they can now put together a simpler trade package without worrying about matching salaries. Then Lowry, who gets a little extra cash from a team with cap space and now has a bunch more destinations available to him. Everybody wins.

So who would be interested? Who would be willing to part with some of their future in exchange for a team ceiling-raiser, champion, and All-Star point guard? They’d have to be a team looking towards the late playoffs, right?

The Philadelphia 76ers

Lowry’s hometown has long been speculated as a potential landing spot. The Sixers are itching for a championship run, and between Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris, they certainly have the talent for it.

However, they’re still missing some key ingredients, the more glaring of which is the shooting. Ben Simmons’ lack of scoring range has been well documented before, and while he’s gifted enough to reach All-Star status without it, such a glaring weakness will become more and more difficult to hide as Philly progresses further in the playoffs.

Lowry would help the team there.  He’s been averaging better than 38% from deep these past six years, and better yet, he’s a deep-range shot creator.  Lowry shot 40% from 25-29 feet this year, and that spacing would opening up some serious driving lanes for the entire Sixers roster.

Kyle Lowry could help the 76ers if he leaves the Toronto Raptors.

So what would a trade to Philly look like?

The Sixers have most of their money tied up in the Simmons/Embiid/Harris trio, but they have a little flexibility coming in this offseason with the expiring deals of Danny Green, Mike Scott, and Dwight Howard, a combined $22 million in salary.

That’s more than enough to absorb Lowry’s next contract, and they’d likely offer a package centered around Tyrese Maxey and future picks.

Is it the most intriguing return from the Raptors’ perspective? Perhaps not. But Lowry himself will have his own voice heard in these negotiations and you can bet he’s giving his hometown a serious look over.

The New York Knicks

With the whole team thrown up into the air, it’ll be up to Knicks president Leon Rose to decide who stays and who goes. With the All-Star leap of Julius Randle, and the steady ascent of their young core (namely the Canadian RJ Barrett and rookie guard Immanuel Quickley), New York finds itself in a position to push towards the Eastern Conference Finals rather than the lottery.

Randle is under a pretty affordable contract for the next two year, and with Barrett on his rookie deal, Derrick Rose making bench money, the rest of the Knicks expiring, and the draw of playing in New York, and we might see the Knicks try and make a push for some big-name free agents this offseason.

Lowry would be one of those. The Knicks would have to offer back a couple of picks, but their trade package could center around some young guys who’ve been stuck behind more complete players in the Knick’s rotation.

Kyle Lowry would be what the Knicks need.

The big question would be Mitchell Robinson. The 23-year-old has shown a lot of promise as a rim runner and shot-blocker, but injuries have slowed down his promising NBA career.  He’s the exact kind of center Toronto would love to have.

If New York decides they can’t wait any longer on Robinson’s health/development, they may be able to sign him to a medium-sized contract this summer and swap him for Lowry.

If the Knicks are willing to part with Robinson, then he might be the best fit for a Toronto team looking for young front-court talent.

If that move fails, a couple of draft picks, which New York has plenty of thanks to the Kristaps Porzingis trade, should suffice.

The Miami Heat

Miami is in a similar position to New York, although they’re on an even tighter schedule. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are locked down for the foreseeable future. That makes Miami a threat to come out of the East every year until Butler gets old or his contract expires.

The 2020 Heat reached the NBA Finals through the play of those two stars and an elite supporting cast, but less than a year later and the backups that took LeBron James to six games are starting to look old.

Andre Iguodala is still savvy but is losing the world-class athleticism that defined his career early on (he’s never been an elite shooter). Goran Dragic is now deep into his 30s and getting more and more injury-prone.

Duncan Robinson is an elite shooter but not much else, and both Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn haven’t had the sophomore years the Heat were hoping for.

The acquisition of Victor Oladipo was nice, but with his injury history and expiring contract, it may be better for the Heat to spend that $20 million elsewhere.

Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry gives the Heat peace of mind.

That’s where Lowry comes in. He would fit in perfectly with the grit-focused Heat culture. He’s battled Eric Spoelstra before, and he’s also close personal friends with Butler. Lowry would be able to work on or off-ball for the Heat. Either providing space for their slashers or setting up their bigs in high pick-and-roll situations.

The Raptors would have to get some picks in return, but the scary part about this move from the Raptors’ perspective is that the Heat really don’t have to worry about matching salaries. Oladipo is an expiring deal. They can just say “ok, thanks” to him and sign Lowry straight up.

The Heat have the most leverage by far of all the teams on the list. They have some nice young pieces they can throw our way, but if the Raptors enter negotiations with the Heat, they’re going to have to bring their A-game.

The Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic has more trade value than anyone else in the league. That doesn’t mean he’s the best player in the world, but what he can do at his age makes him, and his future, the most valuable asset in the basketball world, and Dallas relishes that.

That said, the Mavericks have sort of worked themselves into a corner as far as Finals contention goes. Luka gives them a clear star that part is spoken for, but the rest is still being fleshed out and that’s on the head of the front office.

Kristaps Porzingis rarely plays and looks like a shell of himself when he does, Josh Richardson looks like a swing and a miss. They have no real young stars coming up besides Luka, and with a gifted, but seriously flawed supporting cast, the Mavericks are not going to be top contenders as they exist today.

The acquisition of Lowry would be a win-now move for sure. In the NBA we live in today, there is no guarantee you’ll have a young star forever. Young stars don’t sign 10-year contracts the way they used to, and if you think Luka will want to stay with a team that hasn’t been trying to maximize his efforts on the court then you’re crazy.

Dallas needs to trade for Kyle Lowry.

Lowry would provide all the same benefits we mentioned before. Secondary ball handling, spacing and shooting, grit, savvy, strong positional defense, and team leadership. The question remains for Dallas; “would that be enough to contend?”

Toronto could go the route of the usual amalgamation of picks and young assets as far as a return goes. Dallas has a few young pieces who get stuck behind their strong wing rotation.  I’m sure Josh Green and Tyrell Terry would rather get minutes on the Raptors than none in Dallas.

The only other wrinkle would be if the Cavs put Porzingis on the table.  I’m not even sure we’d want him.  He’s so flawed and so risky, but that talent will always be there to tempt teams.  Just something to keep in mind.