4 Raptors Storylines to Follow this Regular Season

Kyle Lowry’s Contract Year

Kyle Lowry is going to opt-out of his contract at the end of the season, there needn’t be an official announcement of that, everyone knew he would. When Lowry signed his four-year $48 million contract it was a bargain deal for a player that was good but hasn’t really had their chance yet in a stable enviroment. In hindsight, Ujiri signed a top 10 player in the league for less than Mozgov money, resulting in a perfectly ochestrated steal.

And with a steal, recompense must be made and Lowry wil definitely be looking for the max. Why wouldn’t he?

Last year was his best year by any measure and the team is more successful than it has ever been before he arrived in Toronto. He’s the best player on the second best team in the east, Lowry is the face of the franchise and Masai Ujiri has emphasized continuity over everything else. All these things add up to a max contract if you’re talking about pride and loyalty but the NBA is a business and contract negotiations can get arduous.

He’s already 30 and his play style doesn’t lend it’s self to longevity; A 6-foot point guard can only take so many trips into the land of large trees unscathed. Last year was also his best year ever, but he was also 29, just entering 30. Now a 30-year-old Lowry is now looking at a decline and it could be very rapid, small point guards don’t survive for long.

And a max contract for Lowry would be north of $30 million over another five years. Aged 35 Lowry definitely won’t be worth that $30 million a year price tag but it’s hard to see Lowry stepping away from that five-year mark in a contract.

Ujiri preaches culture and continuity but he’s also an astute business man and every contract he’s handed out so far has been dynamite. If Lowry signs for anything close to the max the contract will run the Raptors over the cap and into the luxury tax. That tax bill may not seem like a big deal now, but they’ll actually be courting the repeater tax in years to come, meaning there will be cuts on salaries or players in later years.

Lowry earned his money by ramping up his play every year since he’s joined the Toronto Raptors but there is definite incentive for Ujiri not to give Lowry everything he wants. The posturing has already begun in the press Lowry isn’t afraid to look else where if given the chance to do so. Fans despise lingering talk about contracts but everything Lowry does will be seen through the spectrum of it. Any time Lowry looks dejected or plays poorly or does anything, implication towards his contract next year will be assumed.