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Tim BontempsESPN
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry does not know where his future lies after this season or even after this year’s switchover deadline. But he is sure of one thing: whenever his career comes to an end, he will retire in a Raptors uniform.
“Let me say this: I’m going to retire as a Toronto Raptor,” said Lowry after the team trained on Wednesday night before the start of the second half of the season in Tampa, Florida, against the Atlanta Hawks.
What Lowry was not willing to commit to, however, was to return to Toronto as a free agent when his contract expires this summer, or even say definitively that he will be with the team after the two-week negotiation deadline.
“What I would like to see is to end this season as strong as possible,” said Lowry.
“At the end of the day, I, my agent, the organization, everyone has to do what is best for him, right? Everyone has to do what is best for him and that situation.
“Who knows what this is, right? Who knows what it will be, who knows what this time is going to say? For me, I know I’m still playing at a good enough level, where can I help a team, I can help us and improve. “
Lowry’s name has appeared repeatedly in recent weeks as a potential commercial target for teams. The Raptors are sitting two games below 0.500 after being among the best teams in the East in recent years, and the exchange market itself is in short supply after so many famous players have switched teams or signed extensions with their current teams in recent seasons. He may be the biggest impact player available.
That is, if Lowry is really available. Lowry, as he has done repeatedly, has praised the young core of Fred VanVleet’s team, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Norman Powell for their growth.
But he did not expand his future much, other than to point clearly to a recent report that he had told people he was leaving Toronto, something he said was not true.
“I really don’t get into these things, and it doesn’t bother me because rumors are rumors and they always will be,” said Lowry. “But when something is said that doesn’t come from me verbally and I didn’t say anything, that’s when it gets to the point, ‘Did you register me saying that? I want to know who the source is, because the source is me.’
“This thing is where you kind of defend yourself. I really don’t care about that. It’s just to defend myself for a quick second.”
Lowry, who averages 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists this season, is still playing at a level high enough to be a decisive piece for a rival team on time if he is dealt and receives a good salary as a free agent this summer, whether he negotiated or not.
In the end, however, he insisted that he does not know what will happen on either front.
“For me personally, whatever happens, we’ll see,” said Lowry. “I don’t know. We don’t know. Like, honestly, I don’t know. If I could tell you, if I could look at a crystal ball, I would tell you, but I don’t know what the crystal ball says. No I know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what they’re thinking, I’m thinking. Let’s just get to that point and find out from there. “
While the Raptors will remain without multiple players – VanVleet, Siakam, Anunoby, Patrick McCaw and Malachi Flynn – because of NBA health and safety protocols, they will welcome back coach Nick Nurse, who has been out since before the All-Star Break.
The nurse said that although he is certainly training against the Hawks, the five technical assistants who were also in protocol with him still could not join him in that game.
The nurse set aside time on Wednesday to defend himself and his technical team after a report was released last week saying they were to blame for not following the protocols.
“Oh, I don’t think anyone would have a clue what they’re talking about,” said the nurse. “This is really unfair and very speculative to say, unless you have video evidence of it, because I don’t think it’s very cool to say that.
“I think our coaching staff worked hard and followed the rules in the best possible way. It is not easy … the players have a difficult job, but they don’t wear masks. The referees have a job to do – they don’t wear masks. coaches have a difficult job to do and are wearing masks. It’s a little bit more difficult.
“But I think we had an unfortunate race. It certainly is not that we are not really trying to adhere to the protocols in the best possible way.”