Kyle Lowry, on paper, appears to be an ideal business candidate. He is about to turn 35 and has an expiring contract with a younger Raptors team that has meticulously achieved something close to the ceiling this season. However, all indications that led to the deadline suggest that the Raptors do not plan to move Lowry.
On Thursday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN reported that the Raptors are telling interested teams that they do not plan to switch to Lowry. SportsNet’s Michael Grange released a similar report, and Lowry’s agent Mark Bartelstein denied rumors linking Lowry to the Philadelphia 76ers in February. There is still plenty of time for the March 25 deadline, but for now, the Raptors don’t seem to be in a hurry to move Lowry.
Of course, all of these reports can be leveraged. The more fervently Toronto clings to the possibility of retaining Lowry, the more the opposing teams will believe they have to give up to win him. It is perfectly possible that the Raptors are very open to negotiating with Lowry, but not at the price that other teams are willing to pay so far. Lowry is still an All-Star player, and Toronto would be justified in demanding a package that reflects that.
There is also the possibility that the Raptors may have liked the idea of retaining Lowry beyond this season. Yes, doing so would likely rob them of the space they’ve earned for this off-season, but with Norman Powell improving to the point that maintaining it would probably be very expensive, Raptors can simply believe that their own players are better than their agent alternatives free. They saved their space in the capitalization hoping to race against Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has now re-signed with Bucks, so keeping Lowry and Powell may be their best option next season.
Nothing is ever certain in the NBA’s negotiating deadline. No matter what the teams plan to do, an astonishing offer can change the entire equation. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like the Raptors are trading Lowry. That could easily change in the coming week, and if recent NBA history is any indication, there is a good chance that it will.