NBA Trade Rumors: Why Kyle Lowry-to-Raptors Deal Would Hurt Both Teams
With 30-year-old Jose Calderon in the last year of his contract, the Toronto Raptors are apparently looking to secure a young point guard for the club's next chapter. According to HOOPSWORLD's Bill Ingram, there's a decent chance the Houston Rockets could offer help in the form of Kyle Lowry:
"I’m hearing Lowry for the #8... given that Houston is pursuing Dragic in free agency, makes a lot of sense. Of course, if they get Kyle they don’t need Nash.
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This is the perfect example of a deal that makes sense at first but buckles under closer scrutiny.
From the Rockets' perspective, Lowry is probably too valuable of a trade chip to lose for the eighth pick, especially when that pick is destined to become trade bait aimed at landing Dwight Howard. It's still puzzling why Houston would entertain such a deal without any guarantee that Howard would agree to stay with the organization for the long-term.
Houston would be losing a massive chunk of established and potential talent for a guy who's hardly been a portrait of loyalty lately. If anything, he's expressed an interest in playing for a select few teams and pairing up with a fellow superstar like Deron Williams.
What makes the Rockets think a limited tour in Houston would change his mind?
Unless they have a plan for landing Williams—who has thus far only indicated interest in the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks—acquiring Howard almost assuredly means acquiring him as a rental.
But aside from the mysterious path Houston appears to be heading down, the Raptors aren't much better off in landing a guy like Lowry.
Whereas a younger point guard could learn the ropes behind Calderon in year one, Lowry would send him to the bench. The Raptors would then need to find a home for the veteran point guard, and it's unclear what his market would look like (though it certainly reasons that a team like the Portland Trail Blazers could be interested).
In Lowry, Toronto would acquire a 26-year-old who probably shoots the three better than his mid-range jumper. He's a solid rebounder for his size and has undeniably drive-and-kick ability, but that doesn't mean he's a better investment than someone like Damian Lillard.
More importantly, these are the kind of moves that ensure teams like Toronto will remain mediocre from one year to the next.
Lowry isn't going to get much better than he is now.
With that lottery pick, the Raptors at least give themselves the chance of landing a future star who could help transform the franchise in time. At best, a Lowry-led Raptors have an outside shot at making the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed.
That's good enough to generate lukewarm fan interest and also good enough to keep next year's draft pick outside of the top-10.
That's not good enough to turn this club around.
