Kyle Lowry reiterated that he wants to retire as a Toronto Raptor in an interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated.
Exclusive interview with new #Heat guard Kyle Lowry in @TheUndefeated in which he explains why he left the Raptors, why he chose Miami, why he isn’t looking forward to returning to play in Toronto, his Heat-related big Thanksgiving plans and much more. https://t.co/cgNsUuNh9k
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) November 22, 2021
“Like I’ve said, and I’ll say it now, I will sign a one-day contract and I’ll retire as a Toronto Raptor. That is my everything,” Lowry said.
Lowry finalized a three-year, $85-million contract with Miami this off-season after the Raptors completed a sign-and-trade with the Heat.
The point guard, who played nine seasons for Toronto, helped the team win a championship in 2019 and made six all-star appearances, says he felt he left the Raptors in “a great place.”
“And I’ve left the franchise in a place where Pascal (Siakam) is an All-Star, right? He’s going to come back, have a great (season),” Lowry said. “Freddy (VanVleet) is going to continue to get better. He’s going to emerge as an even better leader. They’re guys who are still young. OG, you see his emergence as the offensive player. They will get more of the attention now. I would take all the blame because I wanted to. I never wanted them to have to deal with that stuff, because I just felt I could take the world on my shoulders. And they can, too, but now it’s theirs.”
Lowry said his return to Toronto for the Heat’s game on Feb. 3 will be emotional.
“I’m a man’s man, but I know I’m going to be a little bit sensitive and crying that day,” he said. I don’t know. I might hold it in. I’ve talked to (former Raptors teammate) DeMar (DeRozan) about it. But it’s one of them days where I know it’s going to be a lot of love for me and me giving love back, it’s just going to be interesting how it goes down because I don’t know what to expect.”
Lowry will have a reunion with DeRozan when the Heat face the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday.
Road week ahead: Detroit tomorrow, Minnesota Wednesday, Chicago Saturday pic.twitter.com/nNt4q5hNT3
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 22, 2021
Lowry said he’ll always hold special ties to Toronto.
“Toronto was home. That was legit home,” he said. “You’re spending September to June there because your kids are at school in Toronto, and to not be able to go there, it was like, ‘Damn, when will I ever go back to actually enjoy the city?’ I went back there last off-season. I had dinner and it was good just having that chance to go and sit down there. And this season, I think we’ve got three days there. I’m not looking forward to (the emotion).”
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