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Tim BontempsESPN
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry repeatedly insisted on Wednesday night that he does not know what will happen between today and 3 pm Thursday, NBA trading deadline.
But that didn’t stop an air of purpose from lingering over the proceedings after a 135-111 victory over visitor Denver Nuggets, while the greatest player in the history of the Raptors franchise spoke to the media for what will likely be his last time in a uniform Toronto .
“It was kind of weird tonight not knowing what the next step would be, just with the understanding that there are things that can be done,” said Lowry. “It was different tonight, for sure.
“I mean, who knows what’s going to happen? Nobody knows what’s going to happen. But it was definitely different, for sure.”
Although the Raptors’ victory spawned a streak of nine consecutive defeats, giving them their first victory since February 26, the focus after the game was almost exclusively on what will happen on Thursday, when the Raptors will not play, but rather potentially switch two robust members of the team’s hugely successful race over the past few seasons at Lowry and guard Norman Powell.
Both players have contracts expiring, and with Toronto plummeting in the Eastern standings and in the middle of a season in Tampa, Florida, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they enter Thursday as two of the best players to change teams.
It was a big enough occasion that the Canadian icon – and frequent Raptors fan on the court – Drake spoke to Lowry via FaceTime in the middle of Lowry’s post-game media session, offering to translate his responses to the media – a offer that Lowry declined.
Lowry began his media session by greeting the five women at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment – Meghan McPeak, Kia Nurse, Kate Beirness, Amy Audibert and Kayla Gray – who previously became the NBA’s first female broadcast team. He spoke fondly about his time in Toronto. He talked about how, after ups and downs in the early years of his career, he found a home with the Raptors, the team that made him a star and future Hall of Fame and with whom he won a championship two seasons ago.
“Well, I think if you come back, [then-Raptors general manager] Bryan Colangelo negotiated for me to become – unfortunately they lost Steve Nash – and he switched me to become the point guard, “said Lowry, referring to the negotiation that took him from Houston to Toronto in 2012.” The negotiation was done so that I would receive the keys. And honestly, like, you know, I wanted to take advantage of that.
“I think just, more clicked on the fact that, like, you know, they believed in me, right, the organization believed in me from top to bottom … everyone, from top to bottom, they believed in me and the that I could do as an individual player and as a leader, so I think it would really help, like, you know, click everything, put everything together “.
The same sentimentality about Lowry’s time in Toronto also translated into his teammates and coaches – all of whom went to Toronto after Lowry did.
“We developed together, really,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “When I got here, he was new to the NBA and he wasn’t really a regular player, as a legitimate player.
“So it’s been that growth until it has reached six times All-Star, Olympic gold medal and an NBA title, which is really amazing for Kyle Lowry, I think. And he’s broken more, or he’s really at the top , in all Raptors records. He will be considered perhaps the greatest Raptor of all time, I think, to this day. “
Lowry, however, was not the only one who was potentially facing his last night as a Raptor. Powell, who has only played for Toronto in his six NBA seasons, may also be on the move on Thursday.
He said the strangest part of the days and weeks leading up to the deadline was not to hear his name being considered in the media, but in conversations he had with members of the Toronto organization about what it would be like for him to play elsewhere.
“I haven’t been watching SportsCenter, to be honest,” said Powell. “I don’t really see many things. I mean, it’s weird around me. I feel like, with some people in the organization, they always ask me what can happen, this, that and the other. But I say the same thing to everyone Some of the people in the organization, our medical team were emotional and things like that, and I’m telling them to relax and calm down.
“But it’s a business. You build connections with people … It really doesn’t bother me at all. Whatever happens, I can’t talk about emotions that aren’t here right now. Wait and see how everyone does.”
Things are different, however, for Lowry, whose transformation from NBA bum to All-Star and champion mirrored the Raptors’ rise from a forgotten franchise to one that has been a consistent winner for the past few seasons. This, despite the fact that he and his teammates haven’t played in Toronto in over a year, has created a connection that adds extra meaning to whatever happens on Thursday.
Lowry, who said in a previous media session that he will retire as Raptor no matter what happens in the negotiation deadline or this summer at the free agency, will turn 36 on Thursday.
He said he hopes to play golf and will have his phone on, but will just wait and see what his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has to say when he calls him, instead of looking at the phone and waiting to see what happens.
Whatever he hears, Lowry said he’ll be at peace with whatever shirt he wears as soon as Thursday’s deadline ends.
“Whatever it is, it will be, honestly,” he said. “That’s the truth. Whatever it is, it will be. At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. You can’t control everything, and in some situations you can, but every decision I made had a choice to make it worked. very well for me, and everything will be fine.
“At the end of the day, everything will be fine, no matter what happens.”
And if he is no longer in Toronto, Lowry will leave an indelible mark on a franchise he has won over the past eight seasons.
“I heaped as much praise as I can on him, [and] I certainly don’t mind doing that, “said the nurse.” My only comment that I always make, which I think is the highest compliment I give him, is that he plays heavier than anyone I’ve ever seen.
“On the court, training or training against or watching games or anything, he plays harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. I can’t give him a higher compliment than that.”