Does this trade make sense for the Toronto Raptors?

Losing Kyle Lowry would definitely be a big hit to the Raptors in the offseason, but as mentioned earlier, if he wants out, then they need to execute a sign-and-trade for him. Just letting him sign elsewhere would force Toronto to lose a ton of value on a player that has not only spent 9 years with them, but helped deliver them a championship in 2019. 

Kyle Lowry is the heart-and-soul of the Toronto Raptors and losing him would definitely turn a new leaf for this franchise, but change needs to come for them sooner or later and now may be the best time to do so. At 35-years-old, Lowry does not have many years left in the league playing at a high-level, which is why flipping him now for some young talent is advantageous for the Raptors. 

Not only could Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton make up the future of the Raptors’ backcourt, but this trade would create a massive trade exception for Toronto that they could use at some point over the next year to bring in a key talent to pair with both Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. 

There really is nothing bad that can happen to the Raptors in terms of trading Lowry away in a sign-and-trade scenario, which is why this is something they should strongly consider. They would free up cap space, add young talents to their roster and they would have a trade exception that they could potentially use at the trade deadline in 2022. 

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Sending Lowry to one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference may not be ideal for the Raptors, but the return that they would get by doing so cannot be matched by any other move the Raptors could potentially make this offseason. Kyle Lowry was a great Raptors player, but his time in Toronto is coming to an end and the Raptors’ front-office needs to realize this before it is too late.