Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry Officially Signs With Sixers

February 13th, 2024 at 6:19pm CST by Luke Adams

After clearing waivers on Tuesday, free agent guard Kyle Lowry has officially signed with the Sixers as planned, Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports confirms (via Twitter). President of basketball operations Daryl Morey published an Instagram photo showing Lowry signing his contract.

Lowry was traded from Miami to Charlotte for salary-matching purposes in the January deal that sent Terry Rozier to the Heat. The veteran point guard never suited up for the Hornets, who explored the possibility of flipping him to a new team prior to the trade deadline, but couldn’t find a taker due to his $29.7MM cap hit.

Lowry reached a buyout agreement with Charlotte a couple days later and was officially waived on Sunday.

A six-time All-Star and former NBA champion, Lowry will turn 38 next month and is no longer the impact player he was earlier in his career. He averaged just 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 28.0 minutes per game across 37 appearances (35 starts) with Miami this season. All of those averages are his lowest since 2008/09.

Still, Lowry is a tough, savvy veteran who is hitting three-pointers at a 38.5% clip this season. He’ll provide some depth in a Sixers backcourt that no longer features Patrick Beverley or Jaden Springer, who were sent out in deadline deals. Lowry and new addition Cameron Payne figure to back up Tyrese Maxey at the point and will likely spend some time playing alongside Maxey.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, Lowry gave up $1,138,964 in his buyout agreement with Charlotte. That’s the exact amount he’d receive on a prorated minimum-salary deal for the rest of the 2023/24 season, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that the guard’s rest-of-season contract will actually be worth $2.8MM, which suggests it’s coming out of the 76ers’ mid-level exception.

Central Notes: Beverley, Lillard, Lowry, Duren, Siakam

February 12th, 2024 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks’ biggest trade deadline move was the acquisition of pesky guard Patrick Beverley from the Sixers. General manager Jon Horst said Beverley provides “point-of-attack defense and defensive versatility.”

“He’s proven to be able to guard multiple positions in his career. He is an impactful point-of-attack defender,” the Bucks GM said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He plays with a physicality and a toughness that we think will help us.”

Damian Lillard has had some tense moments with Beverley during his career but he’s glad to have him as a Bucks teammate, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report tweets. “He brings an edge and a defensive tenacity on the perimeter that we need,” Lillard said. “There are not many players who bring it on a nightly like him. I look forward to working together. Our past personal issues don’t trump an opportunity to win a championship.”

We have more from the Central Division:

The Bulls had some interest in signing Kyle Lowry after he was bought out by Charlotte, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, but Lowry chose to sign with the Sixers. Chicago could still sign another player via the buyout market. ‘‘If there’s someone who has an interest or [the front office feels] like it would be a good fit, they’ll bring me in and we’d probably get on the phone with the player,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘But as of right now, nothing has moved forward in terms of any plans.”
The Pistons are increasingly looking to take advantage of Jalen Duren‘s passing skills, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes. Duren had a six-assist game against Sacramento during their current West Coast road trip. “When we throw it into him, it’s an opportunity for everyone to be open,” guard Jaden Ivey said. “He looks for us out on the perimeter. He’s finding guys. If he doesn’t have anything, he uses his strengths and abilities to put the ball in the basket.”
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam is still getting adjusted to playing with point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Siakam has been dazzled by Haliburton’s creativity, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. “I’ve just got to like always be ready and we’ve got to figure out rhythms. Him understanding my rhythms and me understanding also his rhythms,” Siakam said. “I definitely haven’t played with someone like him before, so I’m just learning on the fly and, and I think the more we’re out there we’ll get comfortable.”

Kyle Lowry Bought Out By Hornets, Plans To Sign With Sixers

February 11th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 11: Lowry’s buyout is now official and he has been waived, the Hornets have announced (Twitter link). He’ll become a free agent on Tuesday and will be able to sign with Philadelphia at that time.

FEBRUARY 10: Kyle Lowry has reached a buyout agreement with the Hornets, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Lowry intends to sign with the Sixers once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski adds.

It will be a homecoming for Lowry, who grew up in Philadelphia and played at Villanova, Wojnarowski states (Twitter link). The move will also reunite Lowry with Nick Nurse, his long-time coach in Toronto.

A video announcing Lowry’s decision was posted on Twitter by Priority Sports.

The Sixers will pay Lowry $2.8MM for the rest of the season, Bartelstein tells Woj (Twitter link). The team is $4.9MM below the tax threshold and has nearly $10MM of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception remaining, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. He adds that Lowry was still owed about $10.61MM left of his $29.7MM salary for 2023/24 before the buyout.

In a full story on Lowry’s decision, Wojnarowski identifies the Bulls and Pelicans as other teams that had interest in signing Lowry after a buyout.

Lowry had been expected to pursue a buyout in Charlotte ever since Miami sent him there in a January 23 trade involving Terry Rozier. Lowry never played for the Hornets, and he will have been off for more than a month if he doesn’t suit up for the Sixers before the All-Star break.

The 37-year-old point guard started 35 of the 37 games he appeared in with the Heat this season, but his playing time dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade and his numbers were down across the board. Lowry was averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 28 minutes per night.

He will bring a veteran presence with plenty of playoff experience to the Sixers, who have been reeling since Joel Embiid was lost with a knee injury. Philadelphia only has 12 players on its 15-man roster in the wake of the trade deadline, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to add Lowry. His departure leaves Charlotte with one roster opening.

Sixers Notes: Buyout Market, Hield, Embiid, Springer

February 10th, 2024 at 9:58am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Sixers acquired Buddy Hield from the Pacers on Thursday, which helps them with shooting and scoring, but Philadelphia needs to focus on getting back some toughness and defense on the buyout market, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Some of that toughness was lost when the team traded Patrick Beverley to the Bucks, according to Pompey, but the Sixers made that move with the confidence they’d be able to land guard depth via free agency.

All signs point to Hornets point guard Kyle Lowry landing in Philadelphia. Lowry, who is expected to be bought out after the Heat traded him in exchange for Terry Rozier earlier in the season, previously played for Nick Nurse on Toronto’s 2019 title team and is a Philadelphia native. While the Lakers are another potential destination, the Sixers feel good about bringing him in, according to Pompey.

Philadelphia has three open roster spots after the deadline and adding another center to the mix should be another priority, Pompey writes. With Joel Embiid out due to a long-term injury, Paul Reed and Mohamed Bamba are holding down the fort at the center position. Not many pure centers are on the buyout market yet, but Robin Lopez and Danilo Gallinari are among big men who were recently bought out. Bismack Biyombo is another option on the free agency market.

We have more notes on the Sixers:

The Sixers are enthusiastic about the acquisition of Hield, whom general manager Daryl Morey believes is the best player among those traded on Thursday, according to Pompey. “I felt like he gave us exactly what we were looking for, which is that he’s one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history,” Morey said. “We really like what he adds to the team and we feel like our healthy group, our playoff rotation, with Buddy Hield is right there with everyone in the entire league.” Morey also pointed out that not many bigs were traded, and the reason the Sixers didn’t address that position via trade was due to a lack of options.
Morey is hopeful Embiid will be back this season after suffering a meniscus injury that is expected to keep him out of action for one or two months, according to PHLY Sports’ Derek Bodner (Twitter link). “We’re hopeful,” Morey said. “Feedback has been more good than bad…so we’re hopeful, and we’re building the team to make it better this year. We’re hopeful he can get back to that [MVP level]. We feel we got a real shot.“
Philadelphia surprised some by trading away 21-year-old guard Jaden Springer, who seemed to just be coming into his own, for a second-round pick. Morey explained the decision by saying the Sixers felt Springer may not be ready to contribute in the playoffs by the end of his rookie contract, while the second-round pick they got for him could potentially be used to trade for a veteran next season, according to Bodner (Twitter link). “We want things that can help us out on the court now with Joel,” Morey said (Twitter link via PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck). “... For me, the Jaden thing was successful.“

Hornets Notes: Trades, Lowry, Bridges, Hayward, Williams, Nnaji

February 9th, 2024 at 6:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Entering the season, the Hornets felt they had a roster capable of contending for a playoff spot, but they’ve been plagued by injuries and have posted a disappointing 10-40 record. As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Friday that he didn’t want to use those injuries as an excuse to run back a similar roster next season.

“We could say, ‘Listen, let’s sit pat, everything is going to be OK next year. We got the injury bug this year, so let’s just go through it and you get a good pick and you go from there,'” Kupchak said. “Your record says what you are. We’ve got 10 wins and to just sit and do nothing, we didn’t feel was the prudent thing to do.”

“(New Hornets owners) Rich (Schnall) and Gabe (Plotkin), they wanted to be aggressive. They didn’t want to sit and just assume this team is going to be healthy next year, so our feeling was to get out, balance the team better, add some veterans that’s going to help our younger players in the locker room. And more important or just as important, get assets that we can use to set ourselves up down the road.”

After dealing Terry Rozier to Miami in January, the Hornets made two more moves at the trade deadline, sending Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City and P.J. Washington to Dallas in exchange for a handful of players and draft picks.

Kupchak is enthusiastic about how those deals will impact the direction of the team and pointed to the first-round picks acquired from Miami and Dallas as strong assets. The Heat’s 2027 first-rounder will be top-14 protected before becoming unprotected in 2028, while the Mavericks’ 2027 first-rounder is just top-two protected.

“A lot of times you get a pick and it’s protected one through 14, (then) one through 10. And then it goes to two second-rounders and there’s really not much upside,” Kupchak said. “Both of these picks have a tremendous amount of upside. We can wait it out and see how they play out in terms of where they end up as a number, and then we can draft a player. Or going forward you can use that pick to make a deal work. They are valuable picks.”

Here’s more on the Hornets:

There’s no buyout agreement in place with Kyle Lowry yet, but Kupchak is hopeful that there will be some sort of resolution on the veteran guard’s situation within the next 24 to 48 hours, per Boone.
After hanging onto Miles Bridges through the trade deadline, the Hornets are optimistic about their chances of re-signing him as an unrestricted free agent this summer, Boone writes. “I feel comfortable saying Miles has been with us, we drafted him and he’s certainly having a great year, getting better and better as the season goes along,” Kupchak said. “And I don’t see why we wouldn’t want him to be a part of this team for a long, long time.” Bridges, who was suspended by the NBA last April after reaching a plea deal on domestic assault charges related to a 2022 incident, will be back in court later this month as a result of more recent allegations.
According to Boone, there were many people in the Hornets organization who were privately frustrated by the number of games Hayward missed during his time with the team, as well as his “inability to play through the majority of his bumps and bruises.” While the veteran forward was effective when he played, turning the page on the Hayward era may be a good thing for the franchise, given how the past four years played out, Boone writes.
While the Hornets don’t expect the back injury that has sidelined center Mark Williams for the past two months to affect his career going forward, he’s not close to returning, per Kupchak. The plan is to reevaluate the big man in approximately four weeks. “I can’t say I expect him to play four weeks from now,” Kupchak said, according to Boone. “It’s taking longer than we thought and it’s not just a contusion where you get hit and you get a bruise. It’s a little bit more than that, and it’s just going to take some time for it to heal. … (But) he saw a specialist that’s supposed to be the best in the country recently and we expect 100% return to play.”
Kupchak is in Barcelona with assistant general manager Buzz Peterson to visit with draft-and-stash prospect James Nnaji, tweets Boone. Nnaji, 19, was the 31st overall pick in the 2023 draft and remains in Charlotte’s long-term plans.

Lakers Rumors: Reaves, Summer Targets, Prince, Buyout Market, Vanderbilt

February 9th, 2024 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite making and taking trade calls for weeks, the Lakers didn’t come particularly close to making a deal on Thursday, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the closest the Lakers ever get to reaching a trade agreement was several weeks ago when they discussed a deal with the Hawks that would’ve send Dejounte Murray to Los Angeles for a package centered around D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.

Atlanta’s resistance to taking Russell was long viewed as the primary holdup in those discussions, but Buha also hears from team and league sources that the Hawks repeatedly insisted on Austin Reaves‘ inclusion, which was a non-starter for Los Angeles.

Having not made a move at the deadline, the Lakers will have three first-round picks available to trade this offseason — either 2024 or 2025 (New Orleans can acquire this year’s pick or defer it to next year), plus 2029 and 2031. L.A. would ideally like to use their draft assets in a package to acquire a third star, Buha says, identifying Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Trae Young (Hawks), and Kyrie Irving (Mavericks) as some potential targets. It’s unclear how many of those players – if any – will actually be available on the trade market this offseason.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The front office mulled the possibility of trading Taurean Prince, but head coach Darvin Ham was a among the “vocal supporters” of hanging onto the veteran forward, team sources tell Buha.
The Lakers were in position to potentially duck the luxury tax by attaching a minor asset (such as a second-round pick or cash) to a minimum-salary player, but opted against it, deciding they didn’t want to save money at the expense of roster depth, Buha writes.
Rob Pelinka indicated that the Lakers will be in the market for a “ball-handling guard” or simply the best available player on the buyout market, per Buha. “Obviously, we signed Gabe Vincent and thought he fit really well, but his health just hasn’t (been there),” Pelinka said. “He’s played five games. I think that would be sort of top of the list. … That would probably be the area we’re trying to address the most, just because right now we have D’Angelo Russell at point guard, but after that we don’t have a point guard on the roster.” Los Angeles has interest in Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Lowry (assuming he’s bought out), but will face competition from rival suitors, including Dallas on Dinwiddie and Philadelphia on Lowry, Buha observes.
There’s some pessimism within the organization about Jarred Vanderbilt‘s odds of returning this season, with the possibility of season-ending foot surgery still on the table, according to Buha. “Until an injury is healed and the player’s back, you’re kind of always in the evaluation process of figuring out what it’s gonna take to get a player healthy and back on the court,” Pelinka said. “I would just say we’re hopeful that we can get Jarred back healthy and on the court without surgery, but you never know. Time will tell. But that’s certainly our hope.”

Bucks Acquire Beverley From Sixers For Payne, Second-Rounder

February 8th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Rory Maher

8:38pm: The Bucks and Sixers have each put out a press release officially confirming the deal.

12:43pm: The Bucks are acquiring Patrick Beverley from the Sixers, he announced (via Twitter). Philadelphia will receive Cameron Payne and Milwaukee’s 2027 second-round pick, according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic (All Twitter links).

Both players are on expiring minimum-salary contracts, so neither the Bucks nor the 76ers will have financial commitments to the veteran guards beyond this season.

The Bucks have reportedly been scouring the trade market in search of help on the defensive end. The team is currently 33-18, but Milwaukee ranks just 18th in the league in defense.

Beverley, 35, is a three-time All-Defensive team member, and while he’s no longer in his prime, he still ranks as a positive contributor on that end. It’s worth noting that Beverley previously played under new Bucks head coach Doc Rivers while they were employed by the Clippers.

As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, sending out a defensive-minded veteran like Beverley might mean Philadelphia is confident about signing Kyle Lowry via buyout. Lowry is currently on the Hornets after being traded by the Heat.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported (via Twitter) on Thursday afternoon that Milwaukee was looking at Jazz guard Kris Dunn and Pelicans wing Naji Marshall to improve its defense. Perhaps the asking price for Dunn was too steep, and the Bucks decided to pivot to Beverley.

Payne, 29, is a former lottery pick who didn’t find much success over his first four seasons, but he resurrected his NBA career after a solid multiyear stint with Phoenix. Payne was traded to San Antonio in the offseason, waived, and then signed a one-year deal with Milwaukee. He has averaged 6.2 points and 2.3 assists while shooting 39.7% from three-point range in 47 games this season (14.9 minutes).

Buyout Rumors: Tucker, Lowry, Dinwiddie, Harris

February 8th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker is not requesting a buyout and is expected to remain with the team through the remainder of the season, according to TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). This comes after trade attempts involving Tucker fell short, Haynes adds. This was the expected outcome if Tucker wasn’t moved at the deadline.

It’s no secret Tucker wasn’t thrilled with his role after landing with the Clippers in the James Harden trade at the beginning of the season. After starting in all 78 of his appearances with the Sixers after signing there in 2022, Tucker has only played in just 12 games with Los Angeles. averaging 14.4 minutes per game.

“I want to be somewhere where I’m needed, wanted and can do it all. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping to go somewhere else whether I get bought out and choose where I go or where I can play,” Tucker said before the deadline to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link).

Tucker was once seen as a “strong” candidate to be moved before the deadline, but the fact that he has an $11.5MM player option for next season appears to have been an issue for opposing teams. The most likely step forward for both sides is Tucker accepting his player option in the offseason and then the two sides working together to find a deal that suits him when teams have a clearer idea of their 2024/25 plans.

For what it’s worth, Tucker seemingly expressed frustration at the situation in an Instagram story following the deadline, with the story reading “All this s— is a f—ing joke” (Instagram link).

We have more rumors regarding the buyout market:

Hornets point guard Kyle Lowry is the Sixers‘ top priority on the market if he and Charlotte come to terms on a buyout agreement, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Sixers have been making moves all day to clear salary (Danuel House) and playing time (Jaden Springer, Patrick Beverley) in the guard room, so Lowry is a sensible addition.
The Lakers, Mavericks, Pelicans and Sixers are expected to have interest in Spencer Dinwiddie after he was waived by the Raptors earlier Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on Stadium’s live trade deadline show (hat tip to RealGM). Dinwiddie is ineligible to sign with the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks and Suns, whose team salaries are above the tax apron, so that list of four interested teams includes some of the top playoff contenders available for Dinwiddie to sign with. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 assists in 48 games (all starts) with the Nets this season.
The Lakers are indeed among the frontrunners to sign Dinwiddie, confirms ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Los Angeles is a good position to land the 6’5″ guard, because the Lakers are able to offer around $1.5MM prorated because they didn’t give Gabe Vincent the full mid-level exception in the offseason, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). Other teams are only able to offer around $1MM.
The Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline and are likely to make moves to supplement a potential playoff push, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Former Pistons sharpshooter Joe Harris could be a target for Chicago on the buyout market after he was waived by Detroit. Johnson adds the Bulls tried to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic from Detroit.

Sixers Trade Danuel House, Second-Round Pick To Pistons

February 8th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

1:11pm: The trade is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), the Pistons have already waived House, who is expected to receive interest from playoff teams.

9:59am: The Sixers have agreed to trade swingman Danuel House and a 2024 second-round pick to the Pistons, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, the second-rounder will be New York’s pick.

The Pistons are also receiving some cash from the 76ers and will send out a top-55 protected 2028 second-round pick, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move is a relatively straightforward salary dump, since shedding House’s expiring $4.3MM contract will allow Philadelphia to move from about $1.6MM above the luxury tax line to $2.7MM below it. The Pistons will get a second-round pick for their willingness to take on House’s salary and accommodate the move.

As Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter), moving off of House will allow the Sixers to be active in the buyout market without surpassing the tax line. Kyle Lowry is one notable potential target in that scenario, assuming he’s bought out by Charlotte.

Philadelphia will have a pair of open 15-man roster spots after completing its deal with the Pistons, as well as its acquisition of Buddy Hield. The 76ers will also create a trade exception worth $4.3MM.

The Pistons, meanwhile, intend to take House into the trade exception they created in last month’s deal with Washington, sources tell Edwards (Twitter link).

Detroit has agreed to a series of deals that will increase its roster count, so the Pistons will have to make at least a couple cuts to accommodate those moves and likely won’t retain some of the players they’re acquiring today. It’s unclear whether they intend to hang onto House after acquiring him.

In 34 appearance (four starts) for Philadelphia this season, House averaged 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game, with a .448/.300/.761 shooting line.

Western Notes: Wolves, Graham, Suns, VanVleet, Rockets

February 6th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves‘ front office has been scouring the trade market in the hopes of addressing a couple areas of concern on the bench and better positioning the team for a deep postseason run, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. According to Krawczynski, Minnesota would like to bolster its second unit by adding another ball-handler and/or a scorer or shooter.

Krawczynski confirms a number of previously reported point guard targets for the Wolves, including Tyus Jones and Monte Morris, while also naming Dennis Schröder and Kyle Lowry as a couple more players of interest. Lowry would have to be a buyout target, since Minnesota isn’t in position to match his $29.7MM salary on the trade market.

If the Wolves focus on a scorer rather than a point guard, Alec Burks and Bones Hyland are among the players who could be fits, Krawczynski writes.

Krawczynski doesn’t expect Minnesota to move Kyle Anderson, referring to him as a key part of the team’s defense and an important voice in the locker room. That’s notable, since hanging onto Anderson and their other five highest-paid players (Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, and Naz Reid) would leave the Wolves with no trade chips earning more than $5MM, limiting their ability to salary-match for players earning much beyond the mid-level.

Here are a few more notes and rumors from around the Western Conference:

Veteran point guard Devonte’ Graham hasn’t griped about not having a role with the Spurs this season and has enjoyed being in San Antonio, but he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be opposed to a trade if it gives him an opportunity to play more, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “I mean, yeah,” Graham said. “Everybody wants to play.”
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic previews the trade deadline for the Suns, noting that a potential package of Nassir Little and second-round picks hasn’t generated a ton of interest among prospective trade partners.
The Rockets will be without starting point guard Fred VanVleet on Tuesday in Indiana, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who says VanVleet has been ruled out due to a left adductor strain. That injury often requires a multi-game absence, but Houston hasn’t issued an update on the guard’s status beyond Tuesday.
Rockets center Jock Landale and forward Jae’Sean Tate are trying to tune out the trade rumors surrounding them as Thursday’s deadline nears, Feigen writes in another story for The Chronicle. “Whether they choose to trade me or keep me is completely up to them. I signed here to play for (head coach) Ime (Udoka),” Landale said. “I signed here to help the Rockets to get back to their winning ways. It’s not a decision that’s in my power or my control. We’ll see what happens.”

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