Kyle Lowry, the point guard of the NBA champions Toronto Raptors, stated that he desires to stay with the current franchise for a long time.
Lowry, who is currently with the USA national team, said that he would like to have a long-term extension with the Raptors. He also added that the talks about that would take place in the future.
“I want to be there – I would love to do a long extension, but we’ll see what happens,” Lowry told the journalists. “I would love to be there long term, but we’ll have that discussion when the time is right.”
The veteran playmaker has been one of the icons of the team. Since landing in Canada back in 2012, he has become an irreplaceable part of the team. In seven seasons with the Raptors, Lowry established himself as one of the most reliable guards in the league, but also had a huge role in Toronto’s rise.
He and DeMar DeRozan have formed a duo which had been terrorizing the league for years. Eventually, the two split apart before the last season, when the Raptors’ GM Masai Ujiri decided to trade DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard.
That proved to be an excellent deal because Toronto won the NBA title after 24 years of existence. But now, Kawhi is gone, and the entire burden will fall on Lowry’s and Pascal Siakam’s back. Still, the 33-year-old from Philadelphia don’t hold any grudges over Leonard’s decision to jump to LA.
“I am genuinely happy for him. It gives him a chance to be around his family and friends. You got to respect the guy and be happy for him.”
On the other hand, this development opens up a possibility for Lowry. He is currently entering the last year of his contract with the Raptors and will earn more than $33 million. Besides Siakam in the future, and Marc Gasol now, the Canadian franchise doesn’t have any other player who could overload the salary cap. That might come handy to Lowry for that one last deal which will send him to retirement form Toronto.
The 24th pick from the 2006 draft was picked by the Memphis Grizzlies, where he spent the first three seasons without any notable success. He was traded to Houston Rockets in 2009, where he began to indicate his potential, but didn’t have the chance to fulfill it fully.
Then in 2012, the Rockets traded Lowry to Toronto in exchange for Gary Forbes and a future first-round pick. This turned out to be a jackpot for the Canadian franchise. Since then, the playmaker flourished into a five-time All-Star and an All-NBA.
In 7 seasons, he started 497 games for the Raptors and averaged 17.4 points, 7.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds with 1.5 steals per game.
He also became a member of the United States’ basketball team, and will probably appear at the FIBA World Cup in China this summer. Lowry is currently recovering from a thumb injury on his left hand but is expected to be ready for the tournament.
