Title: Raptors free agency: An underwhelming 36 hours, options with Goran Dragic, updated cap sheet and more
Date: August 3, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I updated the Raptors’ roster and cap situation two days into free agency, with a big old unknown around the Kyle Lowry return.
My city’s still breathing, but barely, it’s true, through buildings gone missing like teeth. The sidewalks are watching me thinking about you…” — The Weakerthans
Kyle Lowry is leaving the Toronto Raptors. We know it’s hard, and we know he leaves behind any number of legacies. We do not, however, know the specifics of the sign-and-trade deal that will send him to the Miami Heat.
It’s not that big of a deal that the details have not yet emerged, though it has somewhat confusing optics. Really, few of the deals you’ve heard these last few days will become official until noon Friday, if not later. The Raptors haven’t technically been held out of the market as the specifics of the Lowry deal are ironed out; we see plenty of teams line up first-this-then-that signings that hinge on assumptions and other deals being lined up first. It’s a complicating factor, to be sure, but a 48-hour delay will not be the reason the Raptors miss on a key free agent or lose an opportunity to make a deal.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 