The NBA trade deadline passes, Lowry remains with the Raptors

Kyle Lowry stayed with the Toronto Raptors, and the Miami Heat got Victor Oladipo instead. And on a trade deadline day where moves were getting made right up until the last possible moment, the Denver Nuggets took a big swing at getting better for a playoff run while the Orlando Magic began a rebuild.

Lowry — perhaps the biggest prize on the market — did not get traded, the Raptors apparently unable to find enough assets to their liking. Miami was one of the biggest pursuers for Lowry, who they may still target as a free agent later this year, wound up adding Oladipo from the Houston Rockets.

It didn’t cost Miami much: Kelly Olynyk was on an expiring deal, and Avery Bradley has barely played for the Heat this season because of COVID-19 and then a calf injury. The deal also included a pick swap in 2022, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal needed league approval.

Oladipo has wanted to be in Miami for some time, and the Rockets made that happen.

It can be a tough day around the league, but typically it comes with some sort of relief — the questions about players going from one team to another are over now, at least until the offseason.

“It’s not a great day around the league as far as trying to keep everybody focused, that’s for sure,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Orlando swung three separate deals to move three of their four leading scorers this season, including AllStar Nikola Vucevic. He’s going to Chicago, while Evan Fournier got moved to the Boston Celtics and Aaron Gordon was sent to the Nuggets.

Denver was busy, adding

JaVale McGee in a deal from Cleveland as well Thursday for Isaiah Hartenstein and two draft picks.

Questions swirled around Lowry all the way to the 3 p.m. EST deadline, and there were signs that the Raptors were positioning themselves to make the move. Toronto traded Matt Thomas to Utah and Terrence Davis to Sacramento for future draft picks not long before the deadline opened up roster spots, which were necessary because anyone who obtained Lowry would have had to send multiple players to Toronto in order to make the salary ramifications work.

So, on his 35th birthday, Lowry woke up as a Raptor — and remained one.

“Everything will be fine,” Lowry said on Wednesday, when asked about the looming deadline and incessant reports about his trade prospects. “Everything will be fine, no matter what happens.”