Kyle Lowry is reportedly planning to opt out of his contract with the Toronto Raptors next summer to become a free agent. Thus, the Raptors are said to be looking into options of tying Lowry into maximum contract period or signing the Warriors' star player Stephen Curry for replacement.
Lowry found his second home with the Toronto Raptors in 2012, but the NBA star revealed to Adrian Wojnarowski that he is opting out of the Raptors to try the free agent market. Reports said that Lowry being scheduled to a salary cap of $12 million for NBA season 2017-18 with the Raptors made the player's decision of leaving his team an easy one.
Lowry is set to become a free agent with other NBA stars, like Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. However, Lowry also pointed out that if other teams would fish him for a season, he would rather look to re-sign with the Raptors on a maximum contract of five years.
"If you're that franchise's guy, and you're the guy that they've been rolling with, and you've given that franchise everything you have, yeah, I think [the talks] should be easy," Lowry said in an interview with The Vertical. "I think it should be a situation where a guy shouldn't have to talk to another team. DeMar didn't have the chance to talk to another team," he added. "For me, I think that at 12:01 a.m. on July 1 - something should be close. If not, I'm open to seeing what else is out there."
The Raptors' shooting guard DeRozan had been rewarded by the team with a maximum contract in July with at least $139 million salary cap for a five-year deal. The Raptors' point guard seems to be seeking the same deal, which Lowry proved he is worthy of, as per Clutch Points. Game statistics proved the player contributed much to his current team in the past season.
However, the Raptors remain undecided and the decision of signing Lowry into a maximum contract and bigger salary deal remains to be seen considering the point guard's age of 30.
Toronto Raptors Taking In Stephen Curry Next Summer?
On the other hand, rumors have it that the Raptors are considering Curry in exchange for Lowry in the event that they see a max contract with the latter won't work for the team. However, Curry announced his intentions of re-signing with the Warriors after his contract with the team expires next year. This, he said, will make him unavailable for tradeoffs but it still remains to be seen how the Warriors will make this season.
The Warriors just signed Kevin Durant this summer, making the team gain three point makers. GSW reportedly will have to drop either Klay Thompson or Curry if the team won't make it to winning this season's championship or if team harmony would cause an issue in grabbing the season's title.
Meanwhile, Hoops Rumors noted: "Curry has been so good that no NBA player has achieved what he has been able to do these past seasons. Every team will be ready to lure him out of Warriors once he becomes a free agent next year." Considering Curry's age and his previous performance on court, Raptors might decide to take the two-time MVP instead of making a long-term contract with the more veteran Lowry, the report also added.