Trading point guard would undermine current season.
The Toronto Raptors continue to impress this season but with Kyle Lowry heading for free agency this summer they have a decision to make.
Should the Raptors decide to trade their point guard prior to the trade deadline on February 20, they will likely receive substantial long-term assets in return, positioning themselves to really contend looking at the long-term.
However, if they were to trade Lowry now given that they are 27-24 for the season and currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference, then they could be sacrificing any short-term success this season in the playoffs.
Given that Toronto has rarely seen such a positive season with the prospect of winning a postseason series, the front office are torn between holding on to Lowry and risk having to offer him a mega-money deal that will restrict them in strengthening the rest of the roster.
“The Raptors do not want to give Lowry a big-money contract this summer along the lines of what other point guards who’ve signed extensions recently: Denver’s Ty Lawson (four years, $48 million), Golden State’s Stephen Curry (four years, $44 million) or New Orleans’ Jrue Holiday (four years, $41 million from Philadelphia),” NBA.com’s David Aldridge said.
As a result, Lowry will undoubtedly be expecting a significant increase this summer with whichever team he is with, and the Raptors will face another difficult question in terms of whether or not to offer more than any interested parties.
If they decide not to and let Lowry leave in free agency, then they will look back at this month and perhaps regret not having made their move in the market.
Lowry is currently enjoying somewhat of a breakout season, but whether that is merely a by-product of his contract coming to an end means that Toronto could be taking a risk by offering him a long-term deal in the summer.
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