A Kyle Lowry Sixers NBA trade has been rumored about for years considering Lowry’s Philadelphia ties, but when the 76ers made their trade with the Celtics just ahead of last year’s draft – it put a quick halt to those rumors. Expect them to crank up again very soon.
Lowry could immediately provide the Sixers with the scoring boost in the backcourt that Markelle Fultz could not – and he could more than shoulder the load at the point when Ben Simmons needs a breather. The two-point guard system was tremendously effective for the Rockets this season, and the Sixers should be modeling themselves more like Houston than like Golden State – which is loaded with elite shooters.
Lowry, despite signing a three-year, $100 million extension with the Raptors last summer, is now resigned to the fact that the Raptors NBA title contention status is over. The Lowry – DeMar DeRozan combo could never solve LeBron James and the Cavs, and even if LeBron bolts for the NBA Western Conference this summer – the Celtics and Sixers are on the cusp of owning the Eastern Conference for the next five to 10 years.
The Raptors are ready to shop DeRozan in a trade this summer, according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, and that suggests that Toronto president Masai Ujiri is ready to press the reset button.
The Sixers are the most likely destination for Lowry, because they are one of the few teams in the NBA currently has a draft lottery pick and is looking to add veteran talent this offseason.
This would likely get the job done:
Sixers get:
Kyle Lowry (3 years, $28.7 million)
Raptors get:
Markelle Fultz (4 years, $7.0 million)
Robert Covington (5 years, $16.6 million)
No. 10 overall pick in 2018 NBA Draft
Getting rid of Covington’s contract might not be as difficult as once imagined given the recent trend of rebuilding NBA teams of taking on bad contracts in order to create cap space three or four years down the line when that players’ contract has either expired or in order to gain valuable trade exceptions. The Brooklyn Nets have been doing this recently, taking on the bloated contracts of Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll and Timofey Mozgov. The idea is that when the Nets are ready to contend, they will have ample flexibility.
It’s a route the Raptors may soon take.
