Trade No. 5: Kyle Lowry to the LA Clippers
The Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Finals, something that seems quite peculiar at this point, given their state at this day and age. Struggling to hold onto an eight seed, there is no telling as to if the Raptors will be making the playoffs or not.
As a franchise, they have definitely been the losers of these past two free agency periods, as they were unable to lock Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol for an extended period of time.
As a result, they are now left with the secondary pieces of their championship run. On their attempt at something like a rebuild around Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, it remains unsure whether Kyle Lowry has a long-term spot there.
Lowry is a legend in Toronto. He stuck with them when everybody else left and is the franchise’s leader in assists, steals and 3-pointers made. However, an expiring contract at such an advanced age would usually mean that his future may be elsewhere.
The LA Clippers are once again trying to prove that they are relevant and deserve to be one of the 30 teams in the NBA, despite heroically failing to win a championship so many times. No matter how good a team’s roster might be, a point guard void will always hold you back.
Kyle Lowry has previously done wonders with Kawhi Leonard, in a season where he averaged a career-high 8.7 assists per game. The two ultimately capped off a great season with an NBA Championship, the first for Lowry and the Toronto Raptors.
If the Raptors wish to part ways with Lowry, now’s the time to do so. Pretty soon he’ll be a free agent and they will be once again left empty-handed.