Lowry wants to stay with Raptors long term; no extension talks yet
In his last seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry has seen and experienced plenty.
After being traded from the Houston Rockets to Toronto in the summer of 2012, he was part of a squad that went 34-48 and didn’t make the NBA playoffs. The summer of 2019, meanwhile, has been much different for 33-year-old point guard.
With most of the celebrating associated with the Raptors’ first championship in franchise history in the rearview mirror, attention has shifted towards the upcoming campaign — the final season of his current three-year, $100 million deal with the team. And despite the fact Toronto watched Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green go different directions earlier this summer, Lowry wants to remain north of the border for the foreseeable future.
“I want to be there,” Lowry told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. "I would love to do an extension, but we’ll see what happens … I would love to be there long term. We’ll have the discussion when the time is right.”
Per Mannix, Lowry has “yet to have any conversations with the Raptors about his future.”
As Toronto attempts to defend the Larry O’Brien Trophy with a very different cast of characters, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster will have to do some serious thinking about where (or if) Lowry fits into the team’s plans down the road. Pascal Siakam continues to make positive strides when it comes to his development while the potential of OG Anunoby is unknown at this time.
With Lowry heading towards the end of his career, his most productive offensive seasons are likely behind him. The 14.2 points per game he averaged during the 2018-19 regular season was the lowest value he’s put up in that category since his first campaign with the Raptors. And while that obviously had to do with players such as Leonard and Green getting more shots than Lowry’s teammates of yesteryears, we have to accept that this is probably his new reality.
Regardless of what happens in the coming months, though, it appears the 13-year veteran will have the right people working in his corner. He hired Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports in July, moving on from his former agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports.
Keeping all of these factors in mind, how Lowry plays in the first few months of the upcoming season may have a large impact on his future with the team and the amount of money he’ll be making if he sticks around.
More basketball coverage on Yahoo Sports
