Kyle Lowry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Eye Lowry As Fallback Option

June 25th, 2014 at 6:30pm CST by Cray Allred

The Rockets will pursue Kyle Lowry in free agency if they fail in their quest to sign a superstar this summer, sources tell Sam Amick of USA Today. While the point guard has been rumored as a potential addition for the Heat alongside LeBron James, Amick suggests that Lowry is likely to be rewarded by a team that misses out on James and is still looking to sign an elite player. The USA Today scribe says that the Rockets’ cap-clearing plans to trade Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin would be pursued in order to secure Lowry, as well as the bigger names on Houston’s radar.

Amick includes the Lakers as a potential landing spot for Lowry, which echoes earlier reports of LA’s interest in the point guard. The Rockets traded Lowry to the Raptors for the 2012/13 season, but tried to reacquire him before the most recent trade deadline. The Raptors were close to sending Lowry to the Knicks, but ultimately retained him and enjoyed a playoff run due largely to his performance.

The ASM Sports client had a career year this season and is expected to net salaries upwards of $10MM per year on any new deal. While Lowry has earned a big payday, he has expressed a fondness for Toronto while surveying his options.

Lakers To Pursue Kyle Lowry

June 23rd, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers will be atop the list of teams making a play for soon-to-be free agent Kyle Lowry this summer, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com. Lowry figures to be the strongest point guard among this year’s class of unrestricted free agents, though the Andy Miller client has indicated a strong preference for staying in Toronto.

Kendall Marshall was more than capable as a midseason replacement at point for the Lakers this past season, and while the former lottery pick remains on a non-guaranteed contract for next season, it appears as though the Lakers are at least considering an upgrade. A report in February indicated that the Lakers weren’t too high on him, and while thinking certainly can change over the course of several months, it’s unclear just how much GM Mitch Kupchak and company are willing to shell out as they keep an eye toward the summer of 2015.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested in April that Lowry is in line for $11MM annual salaries, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up with more than that. The Heat and Lowry appear to have some level of mutual interest in a deal, so the competition figures to be stiff.

Berger’s Draft Notes: Cavs, Saric, Magic

June 21st, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs are leaning towards selecting Jabari Parker with the first-overall pick, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He cites Parker being more NBA ready as the reason behind that pick.

Heat, Kyle Lowry Share Interest In Deal

June 17th, 2014 at 1:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s mutual interest between the Heat and Kyle Lowry, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, who spoke this morning in an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter (video link; scroll ahead to the 3:45 mark). Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote in late December that the Heat would “love a shot” at the Raptors point guard. Still, Lowry’s comments have indicated a preference to remain with the Raptors, though he hasn’t explicitly said so.

The Heat would target Lowry as an addition should LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all opt out of their contracts and re-sign for lower salaries, as was rumored with regard to Miami’s interest in Carmelo Anthony, Windhorst says. The latest estimates have pegged Lowry’s value at around $11MM per year, which would require the Heat’s trio of stars to accept not much more if Miami is to accommodate an attractive deal for Lowry under the salary cap.

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and CEO Tim Leiweke have identified Lowry as a priority, and Leiweke answered affirmatively when asked in April if the team would re-sign the Andy Miller client. That’s no guarantee, of course, but given the affection that Lowry and the Raptors seem to share for one another, the Raptors look well-positioned to retain him. Considering the long shot nature of the idea that all three of Miami’s stars will agree to deep discounts, it would be a surprise if the top point guard in this year’s free agent class winds up in South Beach.

And-Ones: Draft, Lakers, Free Agency

June 7th, 2014 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The full list of available free agents won’t be complete until the end of June when players and teams decide whether or not to exercise their respective contract options, writes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Pincus breaks down all the players with options and gives his predictions for who will end up on the free agent market come July.

More news from around the league:

Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal released his first mock draft of the year.
The staff at Basketball Insiders debate which draft prospect will have the biggest impact next season.
Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders looks at the free agent options the Lakers will have this summer. Davis notes that the team should have a particular interest in Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry, and Greivis Vasquez.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, Bucks, Magic

May 30th, 2014 at 8:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Marc Berman of The New York Post notes that Carmelo Anthony has until June 23rd to decide if he will opt out of his contract with the Knicks and become an unrestricted free agent. Most NBA players have until June 30th to decide. It was reported earlier that Anthony is considering opting in and putting off free agency until next summer.

Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

May 29th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.

And-Ones: Free Agency, NBAPA, Lottery

May 11th, 2014 at 8:28am CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s free agent signing period begins in July, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders breaks down where he thinks the big name free-agents like Carmelo Anthony, Luol Deng, Greg Monroe, and Kyle Lowry will end up and how much he thinks they will sign for.

Raptors Notes: Casey, Lowry, Vasquez, Patterson

May 6th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors coach Dwane Casey and GM Masai Ujiri held a joint press conference today, an hour or so after the Raptors released a statement confirming that Casey and the team have an agreement in principle on a new three-year contract. Casey and Ujiri touched on that deal and other offseason priorities for Toronto, as we detail:

Ujiri tried to engage Casey in talks about an extension while the team was treading water early in the season, but the coach decided to leave that discussion until after the season, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Casey didn’t think about testing the market once the season was over, believing it would have been disingenuous for him to do so, Wolstat adds (Twitter links).
Keeping free agent point guard Kyle Lowry is indeed a key priority for the team, Ujiri said, suggesting that Lowry’s affection for the Raptors will make negotiations easier, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Casey had each player sign a document after the All-Star break stating their commitment to the team, and Lowry was the first to sign, observes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (Twitter link).
Ujiri said the team’s primary focus will be on keeping its own free agents and retaining the core of the team, as Smith and Wolstat pass along (Twitter links). Grange gets the sense that the Raptors intend to re-sign Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, both of whom will hit restricted free agency this summer (Twitter link).
Casey identified Vasquez as a cornerstone and called him perhaps the most confident player on the team, according to Grange (on Twitter).
Size on the wing and maybe a shot blocker are the team’s most significant needs, Ujiri said, but the GM cautions that he’ll allow the Raptors to grow gradually and won’t look for a quick fix, as Grange notes in a pair of tweets.

Raptors Notes: Lowry, Casey, Patterson

May 5th, 2014 at 11:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Kyle Lowry made his affection for the Raptors clear today in speaking to reporters, including Michael Grange of SportsNet, saying, “I love this situation, it’s as simple as that.” That’s as definitive a statement as the soon-to-be free agent has made about Toronto, in Grange’s eyes (Twitter links). Lowry also made note of his enjoyment of playing alongside DeMar DeRozan, who’s on a long-term deal with the Raptors, as Grange observes (on Twitter). Still, while the Raptors appear to have a strong chance of keeping him around, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gets the sense that his free agency won’t be an open-and-shut case (Twitter link). Here’s more from Toronto:

Lowry says he’s sure coach Dwane Casey will be back, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. The “expectation around town” is that Casey, whose contract is up, will receive an extension of at least two years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Patrick Patterson intends to explore his opportunities in restricted free agency, but he referred to Toronto today as the best of his three NBA stops, Wolstat notes (Twitter links).
We passed along that the Raptors are considering a run at Vince Carter in an earlier post.