Philadelphia 76ers: Hypothetical Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade
It was recently rumored that the Philadelphia 76ers would be interested in pursuing point guard Kyle Lowry. Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense already wrote a great article outlining why the 76ers should pursue the Toronto Raptors point guard. I tend to agree with Kline in that respect, however, the trade package he proposed I don’t agree with.
In his article, Kline proposed the combination of George Hill, Seth Curry, and any young player on the roster that the Raptors would want. This isn’t a bad offer, however, it’s not the best deal that could benefit the Sixers the most while also being fair to Toronto as giving up Curry’s sharpshooting would be a big loss.
The best Sixers’ hypothetical sign-and-trade for Lowry.
Philly needs to wait for NBA free agency to begin before they decide to execute this deal not only for the new league year to begin but it also allows Philly to include other players in a sign-and-trade. Below is my hypothetical deal to land the former All-Star point guard.
As Kline pointed out in his article, the Raptors have almost zero leverage regarding what they can get for Lowry. With that in mind, getting two quality veterans like Danny Green and Hill, alongside lottery-protected 2022 first round pick is a fair deal for the 35-year-old point guard that could walk away for nothing in free agency if he chose to.
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For those wondering why this could work considering that Green is set to be a free agent, consider this. The Sixers could re-sign Green using his Early Bird Rights, it would have to be a two-year deal, but they could re-sign him for the money that he made this past season at $15 million or more than that if they choose.
Then Hill set to make $10 million in his deal once his contract becomes fully guaranteed June 30, 2021. Combine those two salaries, it makes $25 million, which was rumored price that Lowry wants to sign for per year for two seasons, per Keith Pompey of The Inquirer (subscription needed). They can reach Lowry’s supposed asking price without giving up any of their current young core which should be a big win for Philly.
Is this short-changing the Raptors a bit? Yes, however, they could have traded him at the deadline and probably could have gotten more value then versus in the offseason where he could walk for nothing. At least Toronto gets two veterans to help them retool their roster and a future first round pick.
In this hypothetical deal, the Philadelphia 76ers don’t give up any players who have a long term future in their roster, while giving the Raptors valuable veterans to help them turn things around.