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Raptors give free agent Lowry another chance to prove his doubters wrong
Raptors give Kyle Lowry 3 years, up to $100M (U.S.) — and a chance to prove he’s worth it.
There is more than one Kyle Lowry. There is the Lowry who has been the driving force for the Toronto Raptors for four of the most successful seasons in franchise history. He plays with his heart, and has become a three-time all-star despite not being tall, not being fast, not being able to jump over anybody. He does it with brilliance and ferocity, and it’s been incredible to watch.
Then there is the Kyle Lowry who had grumbled about the Raptors since at least the all-star break, who told multiple people in the organization that he was likely leaving as a free agent when the season ended, who was a main topic of the heated film session that the Raptors had after getting destroyed in Game 3 against Milwaukee in the first round. Remember that? According to a source in the room, Lowry blamed the game plan and the assistant coaches, and his teammates told him he was disagreeing just to disagree.
The Raptors won three of the next four games, and weren’t dead until Lowry sprained his ankle in Game 2 of the sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. A week after that, NBA teams were being told by Lowry’s camp he had zero interest in returning to Toronto, and that message was still being heard by at least one team as late as Friday afternoon.
After years of relatively placid, productive work together, last year was full of drama.
And then Sunday the Raptors agreed to a three-year deal with Lowry, their three-time all-star. When free agency began, the 31year-old point guard was looking at a potential ceiling of five years and $208 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) with Toronto, or four years and more than $150 million with another team. He believed he could get it.
Lowry will get three years and $90 million guaranteed, plus incentives that could take him to $100 million. Getting a minimum of US$30 million per year helps soothe the lack of term; in a way, the Raptors could have been much harder on him. For Lowry, every door closed. Philadelphia? Traded for the No. 1 pick to take point guard Markelle Fultz. Houston? Traded for Chris Paul. San Antonio? Not even interested enough to schedule a meeting. Minnesota? Signed Jeff Teague, who is cheaper but not nearly as good. Where was Lowry going to go? Utah, if Gordon Hayward left? What for?
No, this was the last real option. So in a way the Raptors saved him, again.
Lowry was languishing in Houston when Bryan Colangelo traded for him in 2012, and he became his best basketball self here. In 2014, Ujiri held a meeting with Lowry before training camp and bluntly told the point guard his attitude could ruin his career.
Lowry listened, was more of a positive force, and became great.
He told Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski at the time, “Yes, I want a contract. And then I want to outgrow that one and get another one. But I want to win. I want to grow. And to grow, you’ve got to be able to accept coaching.”
And after all that — after all those veering playoffs, all the way to the sprained ankle — the Raptors were the only team willing to give him big money, and Lowry should appreciate it at least as much as they do. At the end of the year several people in the organization thought Lowry could have played through his sprained ankle: two sources told the Star that even DeMar DeRozan expressed disappointment. But maybe that’s good. DeRozan and Lowry say they remain friends, and if DeRozan can challenge Lowry in a positive way to be less of a malcontent than he was last year, it would be good for everybody.
After all, the Raptors lost P.J. Tucker — who could tell Kyle hard truths — re-signed Serge Ibaka for three years, and are still trying to move centre Jonas Valanciunas and forward DeMarre Carroll to avoid the luxury tax. They weren’t good enough to truly contend with the LeBron dynasty before, and giving the kid more playing time probably won’t do it.
Still, this was the best of imperfect options.
The term on both deals is critical: In two years this thing could get blown up, or the logical route — a rebuild — could take root organically as Lowry and Ibaka age and the natural lifespan of this group fades. This isn’t forever.
It’s right now, though, and for Lowry it’s another opportunity to prove people wrong.
He can embrace his leadership role, and this franchise. He can prove again that he can grow beyond, as one longtime former teammate put it, needing to fight someone all the time. If this free agency process humbled Lowry, it shouldn’t dim his competitive fire; it should just make him realize that if he hadn’t been considered a pain in the behind for so long, maybe it could have been different. Remember what DeRozan said after the infamous heated film session?
He asked reporters if any were married, and when one said yes, he said, “You all argue, right? The next day it’s ‘Babe, let me take you out to a nice dinner.’ You have a great evening, a great day. The time after that, it’ll be smooth until the next roller coaster. It happens.”
Kyle Lowry stayed. He has another chance to be bigger than anybody thinks. With files from Dave Feschuk