Amid Trade Rumors, Kyle Lowry Expresses Desire to End His Career With Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are not the same team they were two seasons ago. The former NBA Champions had a strong run last season that ended in disappointment in the second round. Hopes were high for Toronto to continue building on last year’s success. However, that hasn’t happened, and the Raptors have struggled a bit this season.

There have been murmurings of a possible rebuild in Toronto. While they will most likely be a playoff team with their current makeup, it doesn’t have the firepower to win an NBA Championship. As a result, there have been talks of trading the team’s heart in Kyle Lowry. However, trade or no trade, it seems that Lowry plans on retiring in the Raptors uniform.

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“I will retire as a Toronto Raptor. If I’m here, I will retire as a Toronto Raptor. One-day contract? Hey, whatever happens. What I would like to see is to finish this season off as strong as possible. Whatever happens, happens. You know at the end of the day, myself, my agent, the organization, everyone has to do what’s best for them. The best situation? Who knows what’s that going to be.”

Raptors: Losing their greatest player in franchise history?

It is hard to declare Kyle Lowry as the greatest player in Toronto Raptors history. But his case is probably better than anyone else’s. While there were high-profile players leading the Raptors like Chris Bosh and Vince Carter, neither of them won anything for Toronto. However, Lowry has put a championship banner in the rafters.

Kawhi Leonard was the Finals MVP for the Raptors title, but he spent less than one full season with the team before leaving. DeMar DeRozan is probably the name most people associate with the Raptors. However, DeRozan was the one who was traded to make space for Kawhi in their title-winning year.

Lowry will be the first man to see his jersey number retired for the Raptors. However, his massive contract right now can hamstring the team from committing to a rebuild. When and if Lowry gets traded, we know it is rebuilding time in Toronto.