Despite inking a three-year, $85 million contract that sent him to the Miami Heat this past summer, Kyle Lowry’s ties to the Toronto Raptors remain strong. In an interview with The Undefeated Marc Spears, Lowry said he “will sign a one-day contract and I’ll retire as a Toronto Raptor” when time comes, calling that his “everything.”
Lowry described Miami as the “right situation” and “right fit” because his style of play fit a need for the Heat, who also had talent that appealed to him. Nonetheless, he said the decision to depart from Toronto was “bittersweet because (he) never wanted to leave. But it was more a sense of: ‘All right, my kids are getting older. I want to be somewhere where they can be stable no matter what.’ ”
That stability portion stems from the fact that Lowry said living full-time in Canada would require receiving Canadian citizenship. He added he didn’t think he’d live there the rest of his life, though he’ll “be able to go back” and it’s “still home” for him.
Lowry maintained that “there are no hard feelings” between him and Raptors president Masai Ujiri or general manager Bobby Webster. To this day, Lowry said he continues to talk with former teammates like Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell.
“We’ve created bonds that we will have forever,” he said. “Those are people, those are kids and guys that are men now that I’ll support and cheer for no matter what the situation is.”
Thus far, Lowry’s arrival has helped the Heat achieve an 11-6 record, just a game back of the East’s top seed. Through 15 games (he’s missed two), the veteran guard is averaging 12 points, 7.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals.