While it was seen as an inevitability before, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry officially confirmed Monday he will be opting out of the final year of his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
"I will be opting out" — Lowry confirming what we all 'knew' / assumed
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) May 8, 2017
Lowry wasn’t willing to discuss any further details about what is shaping up to be big summer for him, but says he will remain in Toronto until June so his son, Karter, can finish school. Outside of that and opting out, he says he hasn’t thought about his free agency.
The 31-year-old is coming off what would’ve been a career season for him had he not suffered a wrist injury that kept him out the majority of second half of the season following the all-star break. In 60 games played, Lowry averaged a career high 22.4 points per game to go along with 7.0 assists per contest on 46.4 per cent shooting and an excellent 41.2 per cent clip from deep.
Originally signing a four-year, $48-million contract in the summer of 2014, Lowry has outperformed his deal and should be due a big pay raise in the ballpark of a max deal or just under.
He first came to the Raptors in an off-season trade in July 2012 from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Gary Forbes and a first-round pick. Apart from a rocky first season with the franchise, Lowry has arguably been the Raptors’ best player, making the all-star team three times with Toronto. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in three-point field goal makes, attempts, and second in assists, despite being with the club for just five seasons and never playing more than 79 regular-season games.
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