I am told it'll take 10-12M per 4 TR 2 retain Lowry. Lakers should make strong play 4 him. Nash must 1st retire & open up cap xtra cap space
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) May 21, 2014
Retired journalist Peter Vescey (from the NY Post and the Prudential Halftime Report) says that Lowry is asking for $10-12 million over four years. That would amount to close to a 100% raise over his $6.2 million salary for 2013-14. At 28, such a deal would take him to 32, which isn’t exactly old so I don’t have too much of an issue with the contract, provided it’s back-loaded like most such contracts are.
I do realize that the deal would be based entirely on his contract year performance which is dangerous, however, I do believe that Lowry’s great year was due entirely to finding a good fit with a team and progressing his own game, and not to do with him simply playing harder. He did lose weight coming into the year and was in the best shape of his playing career, which certainly helped and if he can be arsed to continue doing that, this deal is slightly over-priced but far from a cap-crippler like Deron Williams or Derrick Rose’s. It’s more along the lines of Rajon Rondo, which can be argued is fair.
So, yeah, this is kind of what I thought the Raptors would have to pay to retain Lowry. The competition, as Vescey states, could come from the Lakers. Other team searching for a new point guard might be the Orlando, Brooklyn, New York or Miami, but really, only Orlando has the financial leeway to do something about it.
Lowry averaged career-highs in points (17.9) and assists (7.4) last season, which was an increase of 6.3 points and 1 assist from the year before, respectively. He also shot a career-best 38% from three.
What do you think? Could we really upgrade or even go laterally at PG without spending such money?
