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Tim BontempsESPN
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry repeatedly insisted Wednesday night that he doesn’t know what will happen between now and the NBA’s trade deadline of 3 p.m., Thursday.
But that didn’t stop an air of purpose from pending the proceedings after a 135-111 win over the Denver Nuggets visitors, as the best player in Raptors franchise history spoke to the media about the that will probably be his last time in Toronto uniform.
“It was a little weird tonight not knowing what the next step would be, just realizing that there are things that could possibly be done,” Lowry said. “Tonight was different, for sure.
“I mean, who knows what will happen? No one knows what will happen. But it was definitely different.”
Although the Raptors ’victory got a nine-game losing streak of nine games, giving them their first win since Feb. 26, the focus after the game was almost exclusively on what will happen on Thursday, when the Raptors they won’t play any games, but switch to two solid members of the team’s massive success over the past few seasons at Lowry and save Norman Powell.
Both players are hired by maturity and, with Toronto falling to the Eastern standings and in the middle of a season being spent in Tampa, Florida, due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, enter Thursday as two of the best players who can potentially change. equipment.
It was a big enough occasion for the Canadian icon, and a frequent fan of the Raptors’ courts, Drake spoke to Lowry via FaceTime in the middle of Lowry’s media game session, offering to translate his responses to the media. an offer Lowry turned down.
Lowry began his media session by greeting the five women from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Meghan McPeak, Kia Nurse, Kate Beirness, Amy Audibert and Kayla Gray), who had previously become the first all-female NBA crew. He spoke affectionately about his time in Toronto. He talked about how, after the first few years of his career, he found a home with the Raptors, the team that made him a star and future Hall of Fame and with whom he won a championship a long time ago. two seasons. .
“Well, I think if you go back, [then-Raptors general manager] Bryan Colangelo changed me to become, unfortunately, they lost Steve Nash and changed me to become the point guard, ”Lowry said, referring to the trade that brought him to Toronto from Houston in 2012. . ” made for them to give me the keys. And honestly, how, you know, I wanted to take advantage of it.
“I think he just clicked on the fact that, as you know, they believed in me, well, the organization believed in me from the top down … everyone, from the top down, believed in me and what I could do it as an individual player and as a leader, so I think that would help, you know, a little bit, you know, click everything, put it all together. “
The same sentimentality of Lowry’s time in Toronto also translated into his teammates and coaches, all of whom have gone to Toronto after Lowry did.
“We really developed together,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “When I first came here, I was new to the NBA and I wasn’t really a starting player, like a legitimate start.
“So it’s been that growth up to the Olympic gold medal six times, an Olympic gold medal and an NBA title, which is really amazing for Kyle Lowry, I think. And most of it is broken. , or he’s really up there, in everything he remembers the Raptors. I think he might be the best Raptor in history so far. “
Lowry, however, wasn’t the only one potentially facing off on his last night as a Raptor. Powell, who has only played in Toronto in his six NBA seasons, could also be on the move Thursday.
He said the strangest part of the days and weeks before the deadline was not to hear his name on the media, but in the conversations he has had with members of the Toronto organization about what it will be like for him to play. elsewhere.
“I haven’t been looking at SportsCenter, to be honest,” Powell said. “I don’t really see a lot of things. I mean, it’s weird around me. It seems to me that with some people in the organization, they always ask me what can happen, this, that and the other. But I say some of the people. of the organization, our medical staff were excited and things like that, and I tell them to relax and calm down.
“But it’s a business. Make connections with people. … It doesn’t really bother me in any way. No matter what happens, I can’t talk about emotions that aren’t there right now. I’m going to wait and see how everyone else is.”
Things are different, however, for Lowry, whose transformation from NBA tramp to All-Star and champion has reflected the Raptors’ rise from a forgotten franchise to one that has been a steady winner in recent years. seasons. This, despite the fact that he and his teammates have not played a game in Toronto for more than a year, has forged a connection that adds additional meaning to what happens on Thursday.
Lowry, who already said in a previous media session that he will retire as Raptor, whatever happens in the commercial term or this summer in free agency, will turn 36 on Thursday.
He said he expects to play golf and that he will have his phone on, but will just wait to see what his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has to say when he calls him, instead of looking at the phone and waiting to see what happens.
Whatever you end up hearing, Lowry said he will be at peace with any t-shirt he will be wearing once Thursday’s deadline expires.
“What it will be will be, honestly,” he said. “That’s the truth. What will be will be. After all, everything happens for a reason. You can’t control everything, and in some situations you can, but every decision that has happened has had a choice to make. it went very well for me and everything will be fine.
“At the end of the day, everything will be fine no matter what.”
And, if he’s no longer in Toronto, Lowry will leave behind an indelible mark on a franchise that has taken over for the past eight more seasons.
“I have accumulated as much praise as I can, [and] I certainly don’t mind doing that, “the nurse said.” My only comment I always make, which I think is the highest compliment I give him, is that he plays more than anyone I’ve ever seen.
“On the court training or training against or watching games or whatever, he plays more than anyone I’ve ever seen. I can’t give him a higher praise than that.”