When Kyle Lowry announced his decision to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors in July he wrote a heartfelt post on The Players’ Tribune titled “Home.”
Among the 832 words he penned, these lines probably stood out the most:
[blockquote]But for me, at the end of the day, this was an easy decision. And all of those roads … they all led me back to the same place: home.
They all led me back to Toronto.
[cite]- The Players’ Tribune[/cite][/blockquote]
However, in a recent interview he did with the San Antonio Express-News, it looks like not every road he was staring down was going to lead him back to the Raptors.
“It was real for me,” Lowry told Express-News reporter Jabari Young of his interest in signing with the Spurs. “But it wasn’t real for them. That’s a part of the business that people don’t know. I would have loved to come here, but it didn’t work out. The conversation didn’t happen. If the conversation happened, I would tell you, but it didn’t happen.
“Not saying that I wanted out, but I did look at teams to see what was going on. I mean this place would’ve been a great place.”
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During the summer’s NBA free-agency period, Lowry was connected to the Spurs as good fit for the team with Tony Parker up there in age (35) and 2016 first-round pick Dejounte Murray supposedly not ready to take the reigns.
Obviously this move didn’t happen and all parties are likely pleased with the outcome. Lowry ended up signing a team-friendly three-year, $100-million deal to remain with the Raptors, while Murray has stepped in admirably as the Spurs’ staring point guard while Parker recovers from injury.
Meanwhile, Lowry himself also appears happy to still be with the franchise that turned him into a three-time all-star, despite the odd admission that he was flirting with a departure.
“Gregg Popovich is one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA,” Lowry told Young. “I knew the culture, but at the end of the day I came back to a situation that was best for me that I loved and happy to be in.”
The Raptors fell to the Spurs Monday evening, 101-97, to kick off a six-game road trip. The team plays the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night.
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