The Toronto Raptors are making a timetable change on Thursday’s deadline for the NBA, and they are holding talks on several fronts, focusing on separate deals for six-time All-Star guard Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, sources say. ESPN said.
In the final year of his contract, Lowry gets the chance to leave Toronto in a trade, pulling. Powell’s future was much less affected by the question of whether he would be relocated, but which dozen or so suitors would obtain him.
The Raptors – losers of nine in a row, and will fall to 11th place in the Eastern Conference – will continue to speak on Wednesday with a deadline on Thursday at 15:00.
Philadelphia and Miami have taken Toronto on Lowry, and league sources say there are still several teams in both the Eastern and Western Conference, giving Toronto President Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster reason to weigh the possibility of ‘ accept a return on future assets instead of leaning. on Lowry for one final playoff game.
Lowry, who turns 35 on Thursday, grew up in Philadelphia and played his college ball at Villanova. A trade to the Sixers would be a return home, but Lowry had an open mind about a number of potential destinations, sources said. Lowry has no veto over a trade, but the Raptors management takes into account Lowry’s wishes, given his monumental role in the franchise’s increase in a steady playoff game, a 2019 NBA Championship and its place in the Canadian sports war.
Lowry, who is earning $ 30.5 million this season, will be looking for a new contract in the off-season.
Philadelphia has discussed separate deals over Lowry and Powell with Toronto, sources said. The Sixers also inquired about other available guards on the market, including George Hill in Oklahoma City and Lonzo Ball in New Orleans, sources said.
By moving Lowry and Powell, the Raptors would accelerate a rebuilding of three young players in which they had invested, with long-term contracts: wardens Fred VanVleet and forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
The birds of prey were reduced with COVID issues and injuries, and they dropped to 17-26 overall, 11th in the Eastern Conference. The franchise’s climb back into the playoffs is pretty steep, especially in a season when the team plays away in Canada in Tampa, Florida.
Powell, 27, had his best NBA season, averaging 19.7 points and shooting 43 percent on three points. He is expected to reject the $ 11.6 million option on his contract for the 2021-2022 season and become a free agent this summer. Teams trading for him prefer to find a way to sign him up to a new deal, and do not give up assets simply to have him as a hire for the rest of the season.
The Raptors have a number of ways to deal with a Powell trade – a number of combinations of young players, concepts and expiring contracts – that will give Toronto option.