by KingOfTheB
Posted 3 years ago
The Toronto Raptors fended off outside pursuit of Kyle Lowry through the 2021 NBA trade deadline, but with the veteran point guard slated to become an unrestricted free agent, they may not be able to retain him forever.
Philadelphia was widely rumored to be one of the biggest players for Lowry leading up to the deadline, in large part due to Lowry's connection to his hometown, and the 76ers positioned as a title contender this year. Lowry's agent, Mark Bartelstein, flatly rejected any notion of a trade and after weeks of speculation, Lowry sent a missive on his Instagram story reading, "The lies people tell in the media are amazing!!"
As we know, Toronto opted to retain Lowry despite an air of finality in post-game press conferences.
The Athletic's Sam Amick reported that the 76ers' plan on pursuing Lowry via sign-and-trade this summer. Amick also notes that Miami is the only leading contender for Lowry that has the projected cap space to sign him outright as a free agent.
The prospect of Lowry leaving Toronto is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's far from an unexpected development if he were to leave. Lowry has been a known unrestricted free agent for some time and though he's been nothing but grateful for the undying love and support from Raptors fans, a chance at another Larry O'B may be too tempting for him to pass up.
We're still months away, so there's ample time to prepare a farewell, but once again, the 76ers are back leading the chase for Lowry while a host of other teams are almost certainly going to be interested in the perennial All-Star as well.
Topic: Sports
Tags: Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry 76ers