Why its time to trade Kyle Lowry

[Indeed]

Yeah, sorry. I was kind of skipping steps in my logic here. To me the Wiggins contract is negative value so it is like you are selling the capspace for that pick in addition to Lowry which I get. But I wonder if it is not better to get Lowry’s true value and maintain the capspace to make an additional improvement or acquire another asset.
I’m not saying that I wouldn’t do the Lowry for Wiggins plus Minny pick but more could shake out from a desperate team as the season wears on. There is some risk that Minnesota somehow drop to 4 and somehow actually gets better the following year and it turns into not much of anything but a mid 1st 2022 and a bad contract.

If we just want to trade Lowry to a bad team, we can probably do that to maximize the return. It is just not making your organization looks good, as you failed to live up to the promise.

I feel Golden States still has a chance to compete this year, and the pick would be better than any other contender regardless it becomes out side of top 10. Meanwhile, it is difficult to find a team to match Lowry's contract with other non-core contract. Furthermore, Wiggins contract isn't as bad with 2 years remaining after this year, and he is a serviceable player, therefore, from an asset management perspective, he can be traded in the future, particularly as an expiring after next year.

Why would a bad team want him though?

Lowry will be targeted by contenders looking for the final piece. His agent is probably looking for a match as we speculate.

Why wouldn't teams like Orlando want him to replace their injury starting PG? Why wouldn't New Orleans want him to upgrade Redick / Bledsoe position? Those may not be contender teams, but maybe interested in Lowry with some young assets.

[StopitLeo]

I think philly would be hesitant on including Maxey in the deal, Thybulle is probably the more realistic prospect. As much as I’d hate to see Kyle dealt on a personal level, if it’s a legit chance at another ring for him with the sweet bonus of playing in his home city, it’d be a nice gesture for sure to Lowry for all he’s done for Toronto. Maxey would be great but if not I think Thybulle has tools to be an incredible defender. Still raw but lots for Nurse to work with, he’s one of the better centrepieces in any of the Lowry deals I’ve seen proposed.

I have no doubt they would be hesitant. However, if at the trade deadline it looks like this is the year to go for it, they would be foolish not to give him up for Lowry.

Maybe, maybe not. They have their core locked up, it’s not like their window is closing soon. They could possibly look to sign Kyle in the offseason for MLE money if Lowry gives a hometown discount to play in philly and for a shot at another title. I don’t think they’re in desperation mode that maybe a team like the clippers would be. I just don’t see them trading Maxey for a player with 1 year left of term and turning 35. Guys like Korkmaz, Ferguson, they are more expendable. Thybulle being the highest valued asset they’d lose, I think they can live with that for a shot this year with Lowry. Maxey just dropped 39 playing with scrubs against a top team, if they were to move him they need a bigger prize returning imo.

I see what you are saying, but I think it's a bit risky to hold back on a move that could put you over the top (if that's how they look at the deadline) on the basis that you have a window of a few years with your core. Lowry would finally give them a real point guard, which would be huge in the playoffs since they don't have a ball-handler/creator like Butler anymore to make up for Simmons' in the half-court.

[Tacoma]

I would ask him if he wants to be here.

If he says yes, then I do not trade him.

I actually agree in principle with all the points laid out in the original post - but at the end of the day this quote is the truth.

Kyle won us a championship and he gets to make the call whether he stays or not. This actually matters from a franchise branding and cultural perspective more than wins this season or next.

You guys are right. It’s Lowry call. If he wants a trade the raptors move him to where he wants to go.

If he wants finish his career here and ride off into the sunset. Then the raptors won’t trade and bring him back on a deal they are both happy with........

It’s Lowry’s call. Doesn’t matter what interest or deal
Is out there. It’s Lowry’s choice and the organization will go with it.

Disagree. To quote Lowry in a press conference 2 months after the DeRozan-Leonard trade, "You know how it is, I come to work, no matter what, this is a business." Prior to that, he had refused to return phone calls and texts from Masai all summer. It wasn't until a heart-to-heart meeting with Masai under threat of being traded at the Feb trade deadline that it turned around.

Sure, Lowry (& DeRozan) led the Raptors for many years but is he a Raptors' loyalist? No. Before last season, Grange reported "if the Raptors weren't going to give him an extension, sources close to Lowry say, he was prepared to hold out and try and force a deal to a destination of his choosing rather than allow the club to control the timing." Lowry showed it's a business, not loyalty.

If there's any loyalist, it was DeRozan, and Masai traded him away. Kyle didn't really "won us a championship." He was certainly an important piece, as was Siakam and Gasol, but it was the FMVP who won us a Championship. If it was Lowry's call, there'd be no Championship because he would've said no to the Kawhi trade.

So, it should not Lowry's call. If Masai receives an excellent offer for Lowry that's beneficial to Raptors' future, I trust Masai would do the right thing and pull the trigger. That's his job. As Lowry said, this is a business.

[VancouverRaps]

I would ask him if he wants to be here.

If he says yes, then I do not trade him.

I agree but..


What if he doesn't give a straight answer? I doubt it's an easy yes or no answer out of him or most players in similar situations in the past.

[rrdjutriurt]

No to trading Lowry. We value him at a higher level then the rest of the league and no-one will pay him what we do so you can count on him re-signing here next year. The second reason is that every team needs major veteran leadership if they are going to excel and that's the reason most lottery teams never seem to improve much or do player development as well as we do. Lowry is a leader, if a mid 30 year old guy can play with his level of intensity, you can not trade him because it shows young guys like OG that they have no excuse for not doing same. He will be signed at the same contract he signed couple years ago.

[Yosemite Dan]

He's a large expiring contract . Do you know who that is most valuable for? The team he plays for, namely us so we have lots of cap space after the season. Any trade would have to match salaries which means that whatever decent prospect or draft pick we get then we"ll be saddled with taking a horrible contract back to match salaries. At least one that extends past this year and that serves no purpose for the Raptors. Unless you can think of a top contender who would want Lowry and has a large expiring contract that they can unload back on us not named Kawhi Leonard.

[refshateRaps]

Huge day 1 Lowry fan but if the return is there we gotta do it.

[mintsa]

I actually agree in principle with all the points laid out in the original post - but at the end of the day this quote is the truth.

Kyle won us a championship and he gets to make the call whether he stays or not. This actually matters from a franchise branding and cultural perspective more than wins this season or next.

You guys are right. It’s Lowry call. If he wants a trade the raptors move him to where he wants to go.

If he wants finish his career here and ride off into the sunset. Then the raptors won’t trade and bring him back on a deal they are both happy with........

It’s Lowry’s call. Doesn’t matter what interest or deal
Is out there. It’s Lowry’s choice and the organization will go with it.

Disagree. To quote Lowry in a press conference 2 months after the DeRozan-Leonard trade, "You know how it is, I come to work, no matter what, this is a business." Prior to that, he had refused to return phone calls and texts from Masai all summer. It wasn't until a heart-to-heart meeting with Masai under threat of being traded at the Feb trade deadline that it turned around.

Sure, Lowry (& DeRozan) led the Raptors for many years but is he a Raptors' loyalist? No. Before last season, Grange reported "if the Raptors weren't going to give him an extension, sources close to Lowry say, he was prepared to hold out and try and force a deal to a destination of his choosing rather than allow the club to control the timing." Lowry showed it's a business, not loyalty.

If there's any loyalist, it was DeRozan, and Masai traded him away. Kyle didn't really "won us a championship." He was certainly an important piece, as was Siakam and Gasol, but it was the FMVP who won us a Championship. If it was Lowry's call, there'd be no Championship because he would've said no to the Kawhi trade.

So, it should not Lowry's call. If Masai receives an excellent offer for Lowry that's beneficial to Raptors' future, I trust Masai would do the right thing and pull the trigger. That's his job. As Lowry said, this is a business.

2 months after the kawhi trade we didn’t win the championship. Everything changed the night we won the title. When kawhi left for the clips. Lowry became “the one”. Our organization needed that player and Lowry half earned and half by default became that one.

It’s his call and that’s that.......Masai can’t and won’t just dump him off “for the best return”. It’s not gonna happen like that.

[pr0gr4m]

With Lowry we have about a 1% chance of winning a championship. Without Lowry it's closer to 0%.

What's the point of letting him go to waste here? He can contend elsewhere and we get value back instead of another Serge/Gasol situation.

[Ackshun]

I would ask him if he wants to be here.

If he says yes, then I do not trade him.

I agree but..


What if he doesn't give a straight answer? I doubt it's an easy yes or no answer out of him or most players in similar situations in the past.

True enough. He does also have to consider his own negotiating power in the summer. By tipping his hat, he may feel the organization may lowball him if they know he wants to stay here.

But maybe he says "hey I wanna be here, and if you can match what any other team offers, then I'll be here"

Wishful thinking but at that point, I keep him. Now, if it's a trade for top 10 pick, then I probably try to grt KL on the trade wagon as well.

I guess when it's all said and done, I just want Kyle to have a say. He's earned that.

[halifax]

He's a large expiring contract . Do you know who that is most valuable for? The team he plays for, namely us so we have lots of cap space after the season. Any trade would have to match salaries which means that whatever decent prospect or draft pick we get then we"ll be saddled with taking a horrible contract back to match salaries. At least one that extends past this year and that serves no purpose for the Raptors. Unless you can think of a top contender who would want Lowry and has a large expiring contract that they can unload back on us not named Kawhi Leonard.

to give another anunoby a $70 million ?

[pr0gr4m]

True enough. He does also have to consider his own negotiating power in the summer. By tipping his hat, he may feel the organization may lowball him if they know he wants to stay here.

But maybe he says "hey I wanna be here, and if you can match what any other team offers, then I'll be here"

Wishful thinking but at that point, I keep him. Now, if it's a trade for top 10 pick, then I probably try to grt KL on the trade wagon as well.

I guess when it's all said and done, I just want Kyle to have a say. He's earned that.

I would trade him for Vucevic.

He is a hidden gem on a trash organization. He can produce for the next 3 seasons as well next to Siakam. We have an issue of the lane being clogged and not having enough consistency from our shooters.

He solves the rebounding crisis as well.

[nivisi9]

We really need to trade Lowry asap...otherwise we end up with 8-10th seed. Yikes.

[Psubs]

He's a large expiring contract . Do you know who that is most valuable for? The team he plays for, namely us so we have lots of cap space after the season. Any trade would have to match salaries which means that whatever decent prospect or draft pick we get then we"ll be saddled with taking a horrible contract back to match salaries. At least one that extends past this year and that serves no purpose for the Raptors. Unless you can think of a top contender who would want Lowry and has a large expiring contract that they can unload back on us not named Kawhi Leonard.

Olynyk, Igoudala (waive), 2021 1st pick and future 1st pick for Lowry, Len, Jalen Harris and future 2nd pick

[mdenny]

He's a large expiring contract . Do you know who that is most valuable for? The team he plays for, namely us so we have lots of cap space after the season. Any trade would have to match salaries which means that whatever decent prospect or draft pick we get then we"ll be saddled with taking a horrible contract back to match salaries. At least one that extends past this year and that serves no purpose for the Raptors. Unless you can think of a top contender who would want Lowry and has a large expiring contract that they can unload back on us not named Kawhi Leonard.

I don't think miami has much use for Lowry. He's not much of an upgrade on Dragic.

Philly is the obvious one. They could definitely use him. And they could send back expirings (green and scott) plus Thybulle and a first. Makes sense for both teams.

[brownbobcat]

He's a large expiring contract . Do you know who that is most valuable for? The team he plays for, namely us so we have lots of cap space after the season. Any trade would have to match salaries which means that whatever decent prospect or draft pick we get then we"ll be saddled with taking a horrible contract back to match salaries. At least one that extends past this year and that serves no purpose for the Raptors. Unless you can think of a top contender who would want Lowry and has a large expiring contract that they can unload back on us not named Kawhi Leonard.

Honestly, I think the cap space flexibility is going to be of limited value at this point. The best they could hope for might be a top-30ish kind of player and I don't think that's enough to improve the team meaningfully right now. To me, the choice is between keeping Lowry as a "lifetime" Raptor to hopefully keep the culture going or trading him now. I don't see the point in finishing the season if you're just going to let him go afterwards. I honestly think they could get Harris + picks for Lowry, Morey is a guy that recognizes that competitive windows are short and I doubt he's sold on Harris' hot start. I trust in Masai's ability to move Harris eventually.

[Raptors_128]

Philly seems like the most likely destination now that the Rockets seem confident they can keep Harden for this season.

Morey loves Lowry and Philly is home for Lowry. Seems almost perfect.

Lowry + Powell for Green + Curry + Scott + Thybulle + Maxey + 2021 Philly 1st.

Lowry/Powell/Simmons/Harris/Embiid

We could probably flip Curry for another late 1st too.

[mdenny]

Philly seems like the most likely destination now that the Rockets seem confident they can keep Harden for this season.

Morey loves Lowry and Philly is home for Lowry. Seems almost perfect.

Lowry + Powell for Green + Curry + Scott + Thybulle + Maxey + 2021 Philly 1st.

Lowry/Powell/Simmons/Harris/Embiid

We could probably flip Curry for another late 1st too.

If I was philly I'd prefer having Curry over Powell. I think Curry balances out the shooting deficit those other 4 starters have.

[dalton749]

It’s pretty frustrating that we didn’t do it in the offseason. I had been hoping for a buy low horford, #21 & future 1st deal but everyone was all worried about cap space which has turned out to be a bust so far.

Our main problems have been too many backcourt guys and no reliable center, that deal would have solved both. We are now sitting at 2-7 while he has somehow helped okc off to a 5-5 start and that deal no longer makes sense for Kyle without philly involved.

Fvv/Flynn
Powell/TD
OG
Siakam/Boucher
Horford

That group would have been off to a much better start.

[brownbobcat]

Philly seems like the most likely destination now that the Rockets seem confident they can keep Harden for this season.

Morey loves Lowry and Philly is home for Lowry. Seems almost perfect.

Lowry + Powell for Green + Curry + Scott + Thybulle + Maxey + 2021 Philly 1st.

Lowry/Powell/Simmons/Harris/Embiid

We could probably flip Curry for another late 1st too.

I just don't see a team with Embiid + Simmons giving up the 2nd best shooter in the league.