Kyle Lowry expected to opt out of contract, hopes to stay with Raptors
Toronto Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry — who has a $12 million player option for the final year of his contract (2017-18) — said in a recent interview with The Vertical that he plans to opt out and join the free-agency market this summer.
Lowry hopes to re-sign with Toronto and wants contract negotiations to be "close" once the free agency period begins on July 1, but if not, he's "open to seeing what else is out there."
With the skyrocketing salary cap and top-tier point guards in such high demand, this hardly comes as a surprise.
“If you’re that franchise’s guy, and you’re the guy that they’ve been rolling with, and you’ve given that franchise everything you have, yeah, I think (contract talks) should be easy,” Lowry said. “I think it should be a situation where a guy shouldn’t have to talk to another team. DeMar (DeRozan) didn’t have the chance to talk to another team."
DeRozan, Lowry's backcourt comrade, reached a five-year, $139 million agreement just hours after free agency tipped off last July.
Lowry, who has been the heart and soul of Toronto for the past four seasons, has led the Raptors to three straight playoff appearances, including a trip to last year's Eastern Conference finals — the first in franchise history. He's earned two consecutive All-Star selections and averaged a career-high 21.2 points last season to go along with 6.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals.
Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri seems to understand just how important the point guard is to the future of the franchise.
“Kyle has been at the forefront of the Raptor movement,” Ujiri told The Vertical. “How he goes, we go. He has helped establish a culture that will grow even more. We really appreciate that. He is a winner, and we want to win.”
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