Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been at the center of trade rumors. It is understandable as he is an aging, albeit productive veteran on a team with virtually no chance of winning a championship. Another thing that increased trade talk was Lowry selling his house in Toronto recently.
According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, Lowry's agent Mark Bartelstein said the sale of the house is not a case of where there's smoke there's fire.
“That place was vacant and just sitting there, so there’s nothing to read into that at all,” Bartelstein remarked. “That’s a residue of the pandemic.”
Regarding the stories that the Raptors star reportedly wants out, Bartelstein dismissed these as hearsay.
“He has clearly not told anybody that he wants out of Toronto. Masai [Masai Ujiri, president of basketball operations] and Bobby [Bobby Webster, general manager] and I talk all the time,” Bartelstein stated. “You can never put anything in concrete in this business, things change, but there is literally nothing to all this chatter about Kyle wanting out or telling his team he wants to go there. That’s just not true.”
Bartelstein's sentiments are consistent with chatter from around the league.
“I really don’t get the impression that the Raptors are moving him or that they’re looking for something to do with him,” commented a longtime league insider. “I think the climate has changed…”
Toronto had a rough start to the season, but when the team is healthy and firing on all cylinders, they've looked dangerous at times.
Also, while almost all of the contenders could use a player like Lowry, his salary becomes a problem for most teams which is another reason he's likely to stay in a Raptors uniform.
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