The Toronto Raptors head into the offseason with much of their focus centered on bringing back All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry in free agency.
However, it appears that plan could be much more difficult to follow through as Bruce Arther of The Star is reporting that Lowry has “zero interest” in re-signing with Toronto next month.
Still, things can change. That’s what Ujiri is facing. Even if the organization did manage to make a deal for a big-time player, Kyle Lowry is a free agent, and multiple league sources say the all-star point guard has been grumbling about dissatisfaction with the Raptors for months. As of mid-May other teams were being told Lowry had “zero interest” in returning to Toronto, even if the Raptors offered a maximum five-year deal. Which since the club had no intention of offering a five-year deal probably made Lowry’s declaration easier to make.
Although the Raptors do have the ability to offer Lowry a max deal of five years north of $200 million, however, it appears that he will choose to make a change of scenery. Toronto has been bounced out of the playoffs in each of the last two years by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the latter coming in convincing fashion in a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Raptors may be a playoff-caliber team, but it looks like they have hit their ceiling of potential. This could very well be what Lowry has come to realize after their latest postseason exit as he now has a prime opportunity for a fresh start to this next chapter of his NBA career.
There have been reports that Lowry could be interested in making the jump to the Western Conference in free agency. He is coming off arguably his best season where he averaged a career-high 22.4 points with 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.
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