The Toronto Raptors have been to the playoffs just twice in the last 11 years, and it’s been five years since their fans got to attend a postseason game. Only once in franchise history has Toronto advanced past the first round.
This season the Raptors are arguably the third best team in the East, a team with a real shot at making the second round. You can call that a dubious honor considering the season and you’d be right. However, a playoff run would be a great reward for a loyal (and larger than most Americans realize) fan base starved for wins. Consider it a detour on the rebuilding road, not a long-term change of plans.
Along those lines, the Raptors have all but pulled Kyle Lowry off the trade market, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.“We’ve heard it from [Toronto] that he won’t be moved,” a rival front office executive told Yahoo Sports.
While there are never absolutes – especially if a team makes an unexpectedly rich offer – Toronto officials and sources close to Lowry have emphasized lately that Lowry appears destined to finish the season with the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.
This means the Raptors could well lose Lowry for nothing — he can be a free agent this summer and as we told you before Toronto is hesitant to give Lowry a deal in the four-year, $40 million or more range. But there is a good chance someone will. Lowry has the reputation of being a disruptive player in the locker room, but one that can play.
The second part of that is certainly true — Toronto is not talking playoffs without him. More than talking playoffs, the Raptors are counting on him leading them there.