Raptors, Lowry agree to 1-year, $31M extension
The Toronto Raptors and guard Kyle Lowry have agreed to terms on a one-year extension for the 2020-21 season worth $31 million, Lowry's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The extension means Lowry will earn a total of $64 million over the next two seasons. Before inking the deal, his contract had been set to expire after the 2019-20 campaign.
The 33-year-old's future with the reigning NBA champions had been debated this offseason, with some suggesting the departure of Kawhi Leonard in free agency could push the Raptors to begin a rebuilding process that would necessitate moving on from Lowry.
Instead, Wojnarowski reports that Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster were motivated to extend Lowry and return the rest of the team's core players with the goal of remaining among the Eastern Conference's best for the immediate future.
"We are so appreciative of how Masai and Bobby handled every aspect of this negotiation," Bartelstein told Wojnarowski. "Once again, they displayed how they look after their players in a first-class manner, especially someone like Kyle who they recognize has such a legacy with the franchise."
In September, Ujiri foreshadowed that Lowry's standing with the franchise could play into the decision-making process.
"Kyle has an incredible legacy here that we have all underrated," Ujiri said at the team's media day. "The inner core of who he is as a player and what he's done in this franchise, he deserves that. There's legacy status for him."
Lowry, a five-time All-Star, was instrumental in the Raptors' championship run last season, specifically Toronto's title-clinching Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors. The point guard went on an individual 8-0 run to open the contest and scored 21 points in the first half alone. He finished with 26 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, and three steals in the victory, which secured the Raptors' first Larry O'Brien trophy.
Despite Lowry's extension - the first NBA deal with a first-year cap hit greater than $30 million ever awarded to a player older than 33 - the Raptors still have the ability to create a maximum salary slot for the 2020-21 free-agency period.