The Toronto Raptors are rushing to a roster transformation on Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, holding talks on multiple fronts about separate deals for six-time All-Star guard Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, sources told ESPN.
In the last year of his contract, Lowry’s chances of leaving Toronto for a trade win. Powell’s future has become much less about whether he will be moved, but which of a dozen suitors will get him.
The Raptors – losers from nine consecutive series, dropping to 11th place in the Eastern Conference – will have further talks on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. Eastern trade deadline Thursday.
Philadelphia and Miami have engaged Toronto at Lowry, and league sources say there are multiple teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, giving Toronto president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster reason to weigh up the possibility of a Accept return of future assets rather than leaning on Lowry for one final playoff run.
Lowry, who turns 35 on Thursday, grew up in Philadelphia and played his college ball at Villanova. A trade to the Sixers would mean a return home, but Lowry has been open-minded about a number of possible destinations, sources said. Lowry does not have a veto over a trade, but Raptors management is mindful of Lowry’s wishes, given his monumental role in the franchise’s rise to a perennial playoff game, a 2019 NBA championship, and its place in Canadian sports history. .
Lowry, who makes $ 30.5 million this season, will look for a new contract off-season.
Philadelphia has negotiated separate deals with Toronto on both Lowry and Powell, sources said. The Sixers have also inquired about other available guards in the market, including George Hill in Oklahoma City and Lonzo Ball in New Orleans, sources said.
By moving Lowry and Powell, the Raptors would hasten a rebuild built around three young players they invested in with long-term contracts: guards Fred VanVleet and attackers Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
Decimated with COVID issues and injuries, the Raptors dropped to 17-26 in total, 11th in the Eastern Conference. The franchise’s climb back to the playoff picture is quite steep, especially in a season where the team plays outside of Canada in Tampa, Florida.
Powell, 27, has had his best NBA season, averaging 19.7 points and 43 percent on three-pointers. He is expected to decline 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 to a new deal, and not give up assets just to have him as a tenant for the rest of the season.
The Raptors have a myriad of ways to deal with a Powell trade – some combinations of young players, draft choices, and expiring contracts – that give Toronto an option.