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Tim BontempsESPN
Toronto Raptors security guard Kyle Lowry repeatedly insisted Wednesday night that he doesn’t know what will happen between now and Thursday’s 3:00 PM ET NBA trade deadline.
But that didn’t stop an air of finality from lingering on proceedings after a 135-111 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets, as the greatest player in the history of the Raptors franchise spoke to the media about what was likely his last. time will be in Toronto. uniform.
“It was a bit weird tonight not to know what the next step would be, just understanding that there are things that could potentially be done,” Lowry said. ‘It was certainly different tonight.
‘I mean, who knows what’s going to happen? Nobody knows what’s going to happen. But it was definitely different. ‘
While the Raptors’ win gave the Raptors a nine-game series loss, taking their first win since February 26, the post-game focus was almost exclusively on what will happen on Thursday, when the Raptors won’t play a game, but instead possibly will play. trade in two tough members of the hugely successful team from past seasons at Lowry and guard Norman Powell.
Both players are on the verge of expiration of their contracts, and with Toronto plummeting in the East standings and being spent in Tampa, Florida in the middle of a season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they will go on Thursday. inside as two of the best players to change teams as possible.
It was a big enough opportunity that Canadian icon – and frequent Raptors fan at court – Drake spoke to Lowry via FaceTime in the middle of Lowry’s post-game media session, offering to translate his responses to the media – an offer that Lowry declined.
Lowry began his media session with a greeting to the five women of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment – Meghan McPeak, Kia Nurse, Kate Beirness, Amy Audibert and Kayla Gray – who previously became the first all-female NBA broadcast crew. He spoke fondly of his time in Toronto. He talked about how, after an up and down first few years of his career, he found a home with the Raptors, the team that forged him into a star and future Hall of Famer, with whom he won a championship two seasons ago. .
“Well I guess if you go back [then-Raptors general manager] Bryan Colangelo traded for me to become – unfortunately they missed Steve Nash – and he traded me in to be the point guard, “Lowry said, referring to the transaction that brought him to Toronto from Houston in 2012.” made to give me the keys. And honestly, you know, I wanted to take advantage of it.
“I think it’s right, it clicked more on the fact that, you know, they believed in me, right, the organization believed in me from top to bottom … everyone, top to bottom, they believed in me and what I could do as an individual player and as a leader, so I think that would really help, you know, sort of, you know, click on everything, put it all together. “
The same sentimentality about Lowry’s time in Toronto also translated to his teammates and coaches – all of whom went to Toronto after Lowry did.
“We really developed together,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “When I first got here I was new to the NBA and he wasn’t really a starting player, like a legit start.
“So it’s that growth to a six-time All-Star, Olympic gold medal, and NBA title, which is really incredible for Kyle Lowry, I think. The Raptors records. He will go down as arguably the greatest Raptor ever. , I think, until now. “
However, Lowry wasn’t the only one who may have faced his last night as a raptor. Powell, who only played for Toronto in his six NBA seasons, could also be on the move on Thursday.
He said the strangest part of the days and weeks leading up to the deadline was not hearing his name being talked about in the media, but instead in the conversations he had with members of the Toronto organization about what it will be like for him. to play somewhere else.
“To be honest, I didn’t watch SportsCenter,” Powell said. “I really don’t see a lot of things. I mean, it’s weird around me. I feel like some people in the organization are always asking me what can happen, this, that, and what. But I tell them they were. Same every day. Some of the people in the organization, our medical staff, were emotional and things like that, and I tell them to relax and calm down.
‘But it is a company. You build connections with people … It doesn’t really bother me in any way. Whatever happens, I cannot speak of emotions that are not there right now. just wait like everyone else. “
However, things are different for Lowry, whose transformation from NBA vagabond to All-Star and Champion mirrors the rise of the Raptors from a forgotten franchise to one that has been a constant winner over the past few seasons. That, despite the fact that he and his teammates haven’t played a game in Toronto for over a year, has forged a bond that adds extra meaning to what’s happening on Thursday.
Lowry, who has already said in a previous media session that he will retire as Raptor no matter what on the trading deadline or in free agency this summer, will turn 36 on Thursday.
He said he hopes to play golf and will have his phone on, but will just wait to see what his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has to say when he calls him, instead of staring at his phone and waiting to see what will happen.
Whatever it is he eventually hears, Lowry said he will be at peace with the jersey he will be putting on once Thursday’s deadline has passed.
“Whatever will be, it will be, frankly,” he said. “That’s the truth. Whatever will be, will be. At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. You can’t control everything, and in some situations you can, but with every decision that has been made, I have a the choice to do has worked out really well for me, and everything will be fine.
“Everything will be fine in the end, no matter what.”
And when he’s no longer in Toronto, Lowry will leave an indelible mark on a franchise he’s conquered over the past eight seasons.
“I’ve praised him as much as I can, [and] I certainly don’t mind doing that, “said the nurse.” My one comment I always make, which I think is the highest compliment I give him, is that he plays harder than anyone I’ve ever seen.
“Coaching or coaching against or watching games or something on the field, he plays harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. I can’t compliment him more than that.”