The Toronto Raptors committed a whopping $100 million to All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry this season, and he's bound to get his money's worth with this new-look roster.
Considering the addition of C.J. Miles and the retainment of Serge Ibaka's services over the break, the Raptors were forced to make some moves, hoping to rely on their youth moving forward.
Now at 31 years of age and a proven veteran of the league going into his 12th season, Lowry will relish the role of a leader within this team — knowing he can at times be a bit too intense.
“I am a pretty tough guy. I am a prick when it comes to some stuff,” Lowry of his leadership style, according to TSN's Michael Grange. “But honestly I do have [his younger teammates] best interests at heart, because I do want them to be successful. I want them to provide for their families, I want all them guys to be all-stars, to be able to witness some of the things I’ve witnessed in this league.”
His young teammates have also noticed his leadership style, but note he's better than he lets on when it comes to doing the right things on the court.
“Kyle is really good to work with in that sense because he’s a good leader,” said forward Jakob Poeltl. “He’ll pull you up and be there when you need it but he’ll let you know for sure if you mess something up. He finds a good balance to let you know when you could have done something better but also let you know if you’ve accomplished something or done something good.”
Lowry had a career-best season in 2017-18, scoring a career-best 22.4 points per game and shooting a career-best 41.2 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Raptors will expect him to build forward in hopes to get this franchise deeper into the Eastern Conference playoffs.
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