Miami Heat Receive: G Kyle Lowry
Toronto Raptors Receive: G Goran Dragic, F Kelly Olynyk, MIA 2022 1st Round Pick (Top-8 Protected), MIA 2025 1st Round Pick
Since joining the Toronto Raptors in 2012, Kyle Lowry has been one of the faces of the franchise and one of the main contributors to their success over the years. Every single season since the 2014-15 season, Lowry has been named an All-Star and he was instrumental in the Raptors’ journey to capturing their first championship in franchise history.
He has done everything right in his career and while he is 34 years old now, he is still playing at a high level and barring no major injuries or setbacks, he could be set up for success for four or five more years. Lowry is a proven leader and while the Raptors have loved what he has done for them over the years, they do need to take into account that he is an aging veteran whose value is as high as it will ever be.
Now could be the best time to trade the veteran All-Star guard, especially since he is also in the final year of his contract and there are multiple teams willing to trade for him before the trade deadline, even though he is owed $30M this season. That’s a key reason why Lowry has found himself being mentioned in NBA trade rumors as of late.
If the Heat were to pull off a trade for Kyle Lowry, they would likely have to give up either Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson or Kendrick Nunn, but in this scenario, they would be able to keep all three at the expense of some first-round draft picks.
This trade would leave Miami with just five total draft picks through 2027, which is definitely not ideal, but if they are truly “all-in” on maximizing their chances to win a championship, this is a move that they will need to highly consider.
RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 underrated trade destinations for Kyle Lowry at deadline
Goran Dragic has adapted to his role coming off-the-bench with Miami quite well and in Toronto, could do much of the same. With Norman Powell and O.G. Anunoby stepping up into bigger roles this year and with Fred VanVleet’s abilities to be the team’s point guard, they could easily have both Dragic and Olynyk be key contributors off-the-bench in attempts to create a well-rounded and dangerous shooting team come playoff time.
Getting two future first-round picks, as well as two impact players to aid them now is definitely high-value for the Toronto Raptors, making this trade something they should strongly consider. Now, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Raptors and the Heat.
