The Toronto Raptors are in an interesting trade situation with point guard Kyle Lowry and after appearing that the team would keep him through the trading deadline on February 20, but now reports from ESPN say that general manager Masai Ujiri could deal him or Terrence Ross to avoid losing the PG as a free agent in the offseason and teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics or Golden State Warriors could be in play.
The Raptors originally were planning on trading Lowry earlier in the season and they got close to a deal with the Knicks before that fell apart and now a new report says that the team could deal him by the deadline to avoid losing him as a free agent for nothing. According to Marc Stein from ESPN.com, Lowry is an option to get moved by the Raptors despite the fact that the team is first in their division and the third best out east, as Ujiri knows he needs to build for the future of the franchise and it would be hard to lose a player like Lowry for literally nothing when his stock has been rising all season.
The Raptors love what Lowry has been doing on the floor and he has helped the team keep things going since the Rudy Gay trade, but Ujiri knows how to build a contender like he did with the Denver Nuggets and that may lead to a deal. Ujiri dealt Carmelo Anthony and then built his best Nuggets team and now he could do the same with Lowry or Ross, who also has his stock going up after dropping 51 points last week in a game and while he is less likely to move, he could be traded as well according to Stein on Twitter.
The Raptors were initially asking a lot from the Knicks in the deal for Lowry and now that the trading deadline is getting closer, there is chance they could lower their asking price. The news should only heat up as the February 20 date gets closer and that means Ujiri has a clock to decide what to do next. The Raptors got better after trading away Rudy Gay to the Kings and that has kept the fans on Ujiri's side, as he has been able to keep the team playing at a high level despite shedding payroll.
The team originally was expected to tank to get Andrew Wiggins in the lottery, but that looks out the window, but if Ujiri can swing picks or a young player for Lowry, that could end up being just as valuable.
The Raptors come into this week with a 22-21 record and they will visit the Nets in Brooklyn in what is a nice battle at the top of the Atlantic division, as BK has played its way back into things over the past few weeks. The Raptors have been playing well and Ujiri now has to walk a fine line between building for the future and keeping his team playing at the level they are at, as the Raptors easily could make the playoffs in the east with the way the conference is shaping up.
