NBA Rumors: Can The Bulls Pry Kyle Lowry Away? | Pippen Ain’t Easy

The Chicago Bulls would be a great home for Kyle Lowry. Boy the Bulls could use him in so many ways. He can be an interchangeable part in the backcourt with Derrick Rose playing the point and off guard positions. He did very well in Toronto teaming with Greivis Vasquez stabilizing the offense and getting them in their offensive set. That alone trumps any of the guards the Bulls have not named Rose. Plus he would be a great insurance policy if Derrick Rose goes down…again. Here’s the situation here when it comes to Kyle Lowry and the Bulls. It’s financial. Will the Bulls shell out AT LEAST 10 million dollars a year for a guy who just shed his reputation as a malcontent a couple of months ago? Naturally, the Bulls will never let anyone in completely about what they do until the press conference announcing their plans after the fact. I like Kyle Lowry and this guy fits the system of the Bulls and he’s definitely an upgrade over Kirk Hinrich.

NBA Rumors: Could Chicago Bulls pursue Kyle Lowry? | Fansided

Meanwhile, Rose and Lowry could make a great pairing on offense. One of the two would have the speed advantage against an opposing wing, and they could both handle the ball and run multiple pick and rolls off ball reversals. Rose is much more effective shooting set shot threes on kickouts than off the dribble, while Lowry is an excellent threat from behind the arc. He took 46 percent of his shots from there and drilled 38 percent. Finally, Lowry would offer great insurance if Rose misses time again. The Bulls could potentially offer Lowry up to a four-year contract starting for as much as $12 million per year and totaling $51.2 million with a few of the cap methods mentioned in the Anthony section. This would be a pretty big overpay, but less so than offering a wing player their available cap space.

Toronto Raptors: Pacer Parallels Not Promising | Hoops Habit

Toronto is led by a talented guy who is straddling a stardom fence in DeMar DeRozan, much like Indiana’s George, regardless of the wild “elite” hyperbole that was thrown around him during the first half of the season. They both have talented young big men who should cause havoc when motivated (Hello Roy Hibbert?) or when actually given the ball with some regularity (Hello Jonas Valanciunas?). While I like Valanciunas’s long term potential more than Hibbert’s, the parallel is noteworthy given the lack of good centers in today’s NBA. And they both have emotional wild cards that make them fun to watch. Stephenson’s school yard ball antics left me gasping for air on more than one occasion during the season and his fiery passion is a joy to watch, even if I did state in a column earlier in the year demonizing his potential All-Star berth over DeRozan’s.

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