No Lowry Deal Indicates He’s Likely Point Guard Of The Future

I’m breathing many sighs of relief now that the trade deadline is long gone. Aside from the Austin Daye blockbuster, the Toronto Raptors roster is still in tact. After much speculation, it is clear that Kyle Lowry will remain a part of this franchise for at least the rest of the 2013/14 season.

We know Masai Ujiri doesn’t mess around. In other words, if he felt the need to trade Lowry because the risk of him walking was too great, we would all be depressed for the next week right about now. However, it’s clear that despite rumors being thrown around by ‘league insiders’, the Raptors believe that they can re-sign KLow at a reasonable price. This is the right move because dealing Lowry would essentially wash this season and put the Raps back into rebuilding. It’s apparent that when Lowry is on the bench, this team is not very good.

Masai on Lowry: we didn’t do anything with Kyle because we view him highly in this organization….met with his agent yesterday #rtz

— Paul Jones (@Paul__Jones) February 20, 2014

The quote above is Masai’s polite way of saying that he believes he will be able to re-sign him at a decent price. Looking at projected salaries for next season, it’s clear that there aren’t a significant amount of teams that can afford Lowry. Those that can, for the most part have their point guard spot locked up. There are exceptions such as the Orlando Magic, however I don’t see a rebuilding team such as the Magic pursuing Lowry. Besides, Lowry loves Toronto. 

I would expect a 3-4 year contract worth between 8-10 million per year for the 27 year old. He’s been phenomenal this season, posting 16.8 PPG, 7.6 APG, and 4.4 RPG. However, that doesn’t begin to capture how great he’s been. With that being said, I’m not going to repeat myself once again – if you want to read about how good Lowry is, click here.

I’m excited, Raptors fans. Excited that this team is finally taking steps in the right direction. Excited that management finally has a vision for a championship. Excited that the playoffs are coming. Excited that Lowry is going to be leading this team for years to come.