It was a busy day for the Miami Heat Tuesday as they pulled off a trade for Charlotte Hornets star Terry Rozier, but in exchange, they sent a 2027 first-round pick and usual starting point guard Kyle Lowry. Having been with the organization since 2021, Lowry has made an impact with the team, creating some life-long bonds, most notably with star Jimmy Butler.
After the Heat's loss to the Boston Celtics Thursday night, Butler spoke to the media about the friendship Lowry and himself have and how it goes beyond basketball. He would imply that it doesn't matter what team they are on, they will always be brothers to each other.
“That's my brother like I tell everybody. Basketball is not going to change the bond that we have, the bond that we both have with each other's children,” Butler said. “It's always a family vibe with him. I can call him. I can show up at his house at any point in time. Basketball hasn't defined me, hasn't defined him.”
Erik Spoelstra and company ‘pushed' to get Lowry with the Heat
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra also commented on Lowry's departure before Wednesday's game to the Memphis Grizzlies. Before the trade, he would praise the 37-year-old any chance he got and did the same afterwards.
“We all pushed to get Kyle here, and that’s for a reason,” Spoelstra said. “Kyle, you can never define him by his stats. His whole career, particularly as an ultimate winner, you define him by whether your team is winning or not and how it was functioning. And the first two years, the resume speaks for itself.”
Spoelstra would even go as far as to say that he was an integral piece to the Heat making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and eventually the championship series last season in the team's miraculous run to the NBA Finals. His impact even went as far as the first season Lowry was with Miami where they captured the No. 1 seed in the 2021-22 season.
“The Eastern Conference Finals and going to the Finals, he was a big part of both seasons. And his ability to impact both units, the first year as full-time starter, and then when we had injuries, to really help us secure that No. 1 seed,” Spoelstra said. “If we didn’t have those six weeks with him playing at an extremely high level and infusing confidence in everybody, we wouldn’t have had that No. 1 seed.
“And then the second year to be able to handle coming in off the bench and really starring in the role off his injury, and our second unit really struggled last year until he went into it, and he basically fixed all of that.”
Spoelstra says that he'll miss Lowry
Lowry's play speaks for itself as he made a name for himself with the Toronto Raptors and eventually with Miami in the twilight years of his career. However, there is no doubt that play has slipped, which led to the trade for Rozier on Tuesday. However, forget about his performance on the court for a second as, per Spoelstra and the rest of the team, they will miss him.
“As a human being, I’d gotten to know him a long time before we got him. I just really respect him and enjoy him as a human being. I’ll miss that. And this is part of the business,” Spoelstra said. “You come to really develop some strong relationships with people, and sometimes you have to make a business decision. And that’s what this was.
“He’ll be just fine. He’ll find his next stop, wherever that is, whether it’s Charlotte or somewhere else, and he’ll continue to make an impact.”
Now with the Hornets, it is not expected that Lowry plays a minute with them as they could buy out his contract, but a decision hasn't been made as of yet on that front. For the Heat, they have lost five straight as their record is 24-21, which puts them seventh in the Eastern Conference.
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