During the hours leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweeted that the Sixers and Raptors appeared to be “at the one-yard line” in their discussions on a Kyle Lowry trade. Obviously, those talks didn’t make it into the end zone and Lowry ended up staying put. But Sam Amick of The Athletic hears that Toronto did feel at one point as if a deal with Philadelphia was close.
According to Amick, the deal would have included Danny Green, who would’ve been re-routed to a third team. It’s a safe bet that at least one of Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle would have been part of the package too. However, the draft compensation involved in the proposed trade was the obstacle that held things up, a source tells Amick.
Following up today on the Lowry discussions, Grange says (via Twitter) that the Sixers knew Miami was Lowry’s preferred landing spot, so they had to view him as a possible rental. That limited what they were willing to offer beyond Maxey, Grange adds. The Lakers were in a similar boat with Talen Horton-Tucker, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, while the Heat were unwilling to offer Tyler Herro for a player they could theoretically sign in free agency this summer.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- While the Raptors didn’t trade Lowry at the deadline, it’s hard to shake the sense that more drastic changes could be coming as soon as this offseason, Grange writes for Sportsnet.ca. While Lowry could sign a new contract with Toronto, it seems just as likely that he could head elsewhere, possibly in a sign-and-trade deal.
- Like Lowry, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is also on an expiring contract, and while he spoke glowingly about the franchise on Thursday, he gave no indication that an in-season extension is around the corner. “We’ll visit this at the end of the season at some point,” Ujiri said of his contract with Toronto, per Grange.
- During his media session on Thursday, Ujiri addressed the idea that the Raptors’ asking price for Lowry was too high: “I was surprised (the offers) weren’t better because, to be honest, I’ve viewed him as somebody that can go out and put a stamp on what you can do this year. … I’ve lived it, I’ve seen it… I know what the guy does. I know who he is. And that’s the truth. So, yeah, we’re going to (be) skewed in some kind of way and I’m biased in many ways with the players we have and I hope I’m pardoned that if I valued him too much, but that’s what I believe in today.”
- Raptors reserves DeAndre’ Bembry and Paul Watson have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and won’t play on Friday night, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
Raptors want both 76ers future Firsts
76ers have traded 5 future second round picks this season
Both Morey and Rivers enjoy trading away future picks for present success
In regard to Paul George trade
Steve Balmer wanted to keep some future Firsts
Doc Rivers wanted to trade all 6 Firsts and two starters for George
Probably made up
That’s what you do when you are a number one seed with your top three players in their prime or close to it.
Ujiri might have made a real mistake not trading Lowry. The best GMs year after year are those that don’t lose players for nothing. Just compare how many times Presti ended up trading expiring guys for more and more valuable assets over time. For example track the progress of his assets he traded from Carmelo Anthony. On the other hand look at the problems the Celtics have had letting Rosier, Horford, and Hayward all basically go for nothing (expect the sign and trade).
If Ujiri ends up resigning Lowry things are fine. If Lowry signs somewhere else he wasted a chance to retool his assets to help the team going forward.
There is a 99% chance that if Lowry wants to sign elsewhere as FA , it’ll be via sign and trade
I would put the odds at 70-30 of him staying however.
Outside of the Derozen trade he’s been the happiest he’s ever been as a Raptor and is the team leader in almost every category plus has a championship.
He’s just not bolting in FA
Will a sign and trade equal a return of Maxey and a first round pick though? I don’t think it will in my opinion.
I must admit it would seem to me that TOR have been horrible during the negotiations for trading K-Low, how bad can they be for havin’ 3 teams chasin’ for him & gettin’ nothin’ for him?
I must say though, that K-Low stabbed them on the back makin’ it know he preferred MIA, that kind of killed it for them, although their greed to get the most out of an ole man, is what finally made them fail, that is a big failure for TOR!