Toronto’s Lowry to enter free agency

Kyle Lowry will opt out of the final year of his contract with Toronto to test free agency.

Eliminated from the playoffs for the second year in a row by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers a day earlier, the Raptors weren’t offering many answers about their future Monday as they met for exit interviews and end-of-season physicals.

The only clear-cut decision came from Lowry, who confirmed he will decline a $12 million option for the final season of the four-year, $48 million contract he signed in July 2014.

As for what he’s seeking in free agency, Lowry said a championship is at the top of his list.

“I want a ring,” he said. “That’s all that drives me. I want to just get better, I want to have fun, I want to win a ring. I want to make sure my family is happy. That’s all I’ve thought about right now.”

Lowry, 31, averaged career bests of 22.4 points, 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game this season but was limited to 60 games because of a right wrist injury that required surgery in February. After suffering a sprained left ankle in Game 2 against the Cavaliers, he was unable to play in the final two games of the series.

Guard DeMar DeRozan, who signed a five-year, $135 million deal to stay with Toronto last summer, said he thinks the Raptors are close to competing for a conference title.

Forwards Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, acquired at the trade deadline to beef up Toronto’s front line, are free agents. So is forward Patrick Patterson.

Lowry, an 11-year veteran, has played five seasons with the Raptors after stints in Memphis and Houston. Nene out for playoffs: Houston backup center Nene is out for the rest of the postseason, the team announced, after he tore a muscle in his left thigh Sunday during a 125-104 win over the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

Nene, averaged 10 points and 4.7 rebounds in nine postseason games this season. In Game 4 of Houston’s first-round series against Oklahoma City, he tied an NBA record by making all 12 of his shots and en route to a career-playoff-high 28 points in a 113-109 win. Gay to opt out: Forward Rudy Gay has informed the Kings he plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Gay played in 30 games this past season before rupturing his left Achilles tendon Jan. 18 against Indiana, and had informed the team he planned to opt out prior to the start of the season. The injury put those plans in question, but Gay is ahead of schedule in his recovery.