This is going to be a bit of a theme this week so may as well get it going. So according to ESPN the Knicks are still interested in Lowry but haven’t really upped their offer from before:
The Knicks are offering packages including Iman Shumpert, Raymond Felton and Beno Udrih, sources say. They have been reluctant to include sharpshooting rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. or a future first-round draft pick in any deal. One of those two pieces is believed to be a prerequisite for Toronto to consider giving up Lowry.
Ujiri apparently wants two of a first round pick, Shumpert, and Hardaway Jr., and by my count that’s not what’s on offer here so not sure what the Knicks are expecting from Ujiri here other than outright rejection. The interesting part is how Atlanta has come into the picture:
League sources say a scenario in which Teague ends up in Toronto, Shumpert goes to Atlanta and Lowry winds up in New York has been discussed.
Aah, you had my curiosity, now you have my attention. This proposed deal would also see the Raptors receive one of Atlanta’s many first-rounders, satisfying Ujiri’s craving for draft picks, which will no doubt be protected.
Jeff Teague is two years younger which might fit in better with the Raptors’ contention window, but Lowry is the better player at the moment. Teague has three years left on a 4yr/$32 million deal which is reasonable and something the Raptors would likely jump to sign Lowry to if it was possible.
As deadline day nears, teams will get desperate and you can trust the Knicks to be one of them. The best part about deadline day this time around is that the Raptors are in absolutely no pressure to act, other than perhaps looking for a backup big. Ujiri basically has to lean back in his chair and wait for the phone to ring as the offers improve, however marginally. As the man himself said:
“I’ll be right here (waving his cellphone) waiting and we’ll see what happens. I never know what to expect.”
If the Raptors do somehow end up getting Teague in a Lowry-swap, this observer would not be too upset. I also have full faith that whatever trade is executed, it’ll be the Knicks that end up getting the short end of the stick. This would also be a pretty unique trade since Atlanta and Toronto are fighting for the third spot in the East. Certainly don’t see that too often.
