Things got going last night with...crickets,
Www Oakley Sunglasses. No big signings yet but the rumour mill is in full swing. You can keep track of everything and our intrepid crew of bloggers has a solid
Including, the meeting with .
While late last night it sounded like Lowry was a pretty sure bet to return to Toronto despite overtures from the , Yahoo! Sports ace reporter Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted the following last night regarding Darryl Morey's "wooing" of Lowry:
The are meeting today as well in Philly and the yes, the Miami Heat have reached out already:
Now, I still think the Raptors are going to successfully bring Lowry back. They've got a lethal combination of top dollars, top role, and geographic proximity to his home base in Philly. .
To me, the Heat are the biggest threat but if indeed is coming back at max dollars, unless and take MEGA discounts, I'm not sure how Miami can come close to offering Lowry the kind of cash he's looking for.
, a must-read regarding various free agency situations, including those of the Raptors.
Other Raptors' rumours? Two names that were mentioned from a number of respected media types last night were and .
Ariza makes sense as an upgrade at the wing position defensively, and a very dependable corner three-point shooter. If he was acquired, it would likely push back to the bench though, which may or not be a good thing depending on your view of Ross' development. However the entire league is apparently after Ariza, and I think he'll be a top option on the "why did we pay that guy that much" list a few seasons from now. So I expect him to head somewhere else.
As for Lewis, helped in Lewis' development as a youngster in Seattle and has always been fond of the two-time All-Star. Lewis makes some sense for Toronto too as a late option on the bench. He showed with the Miami Heat last year that he's still capable of shooting and scoring sprees and he could be an option if leaves.
I'm not super enthused though. We're talking about a 34 year-old guy with a PER of under 11 last year, who shot 41 per cent from the field and 34 per cent from downtown. And while he seemed to take his game to another level in the playoffs, the data would indicate otherwise as his PER was worse and his percentages were nearly the same. Considering his likely price tag as a "name" guy, I'd rather Toronto looked elsewhere for that sort of production.
The recently waived might be an interesting back-up point guard option.
At the 2/3 spots, , and peak my interest.
And at forward/center, there aren't a ton of great options but I wonder if going after would make sense. He would be a great back-up option to , able to provide rim protection and solid D in the paint. However he may still see himself as a starter and want more money than Toronto could provide. He's also not been the healthiest player over his career.
One other name to keep an eye on is former Raptor Vince Carter.