To begin: we did not and still do not advocate for the trading of Kyle Lowry. Yes, there’s some thinking that makes sense here, that the Raptors, knowing Lowry could walk this summer in free agency, would have been wise to swap him at this year’s trade deadline to acquire a few assets. This likely would have amounted to a young player or two, and maybe some draft picks, but still: it’s possible that that would have been better than nothing. In theory.
Of course, as we know, the Raptors decided to keep Lowry — maybe because they feel confident in re-signing him, or because they’re fine with letting him walk entirely, or because it might be better to do a sign-and-trade this summer, or, quite frankly, because none of the teams bidding to acquire him came with a good enough offer.