The Miami Heat are waiting on LeBron James and in the meantime, names like Chandler Parsons, Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe and Lance Stephenson could be free agent options and this comes after target Kyle Lowry signed back with the Toronto Raptors after getting interest from a number of teams, including the LA Lakers and Miami Heat as well as the Houston Rockets.
Miami has tons of cap space, but that is because of the Big 3 and they will take that up once they sign back. LeBron James wants to see some progress on the free agent market and Monroe, Bledsoe or Parsons could be options as restricted free agents. Parsons and Bledsoe are both restricted free agents that their teams want to retain, so the Heat may have to try and get creative to avoid the original teams matching deals and that could make it tough to sign those players. Stephenson likely will cost too much after he rejected a five year deal for $44 million from the Pacers and now the Heat are looking at a number of different options.
Losing Lowry hurts though because he was a major target for the team and could have fit well with James. The Raptors made major progress this season despite trading away Rudy Gay and after losing in the playoffs to the Nets, the team has signed back Kyle Lowry after he was a free agent and the team may look to sign other players like Lance Stephenson, Evan Turner or Vince Carter and the team is also bringing back head coach Dwane Casey.
The Raptors won 48 games this season and took the Atlantic division title before losing to the Brooklyn Nets in seven games in the playoffs and now they are looking towards the future. Many thought the Raptors were in rebuilding mode at the beginning of the season with new GM Masai Ujiri coming in, but after trading away Gay, the team added a number of solid veterans and role players and that propelled young talent like Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross.
The team finished in the third seed in the east this season and according to ESPN.com, the Raptors have brought back Casey on a three year deal to keep him in place as the franchise builds ahead. The team set a franchise record with the win total and with Lowry developing and DeRozan making the All-Star team, Toronto could be a force in the east. Lowry finished Game 7 with 28 points, but his shot at the end was blocked by Paul Pierce and that would have been the game winner had he connected on it. DeRozan helped keep the Raptors alive with back to back 30-point games and he is developing into a very consistent scorer and playmaker.
The Raptors were a surprise team this season, but the future could be bright due to the youth on the team and apart from the Miami Heat at the top, there is a void in the east that can be filled by Toronto. The Raptors are thrilled to have Lowry back and now the Heat need to make moves.
