Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry appears headed to either the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets. Offloading cumbersome contracts could be part of a plan to tank for Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports.
Lowry seems destined for the Big Apple. New York and Brooklyn are the two biggest contenders for the 27-year-old point guard, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Knicks appeared set to trade Raymond Felton, Metta World Peace and a 2018 first-round draft pick for Lowry until Knicks owner James Dolan intervened. Concerned about the public perception of being duped again by Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, Dolan on Thursday reportedly vetoed the trade.
"Knicks owner Jim Dolan is sensitive to the public perception that Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri bamboozled New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and the chance of getting panned for giving up too much in a deal for Lowry has become a hurdle in these talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports," wrote Wojnarowski.
Brooklyn is also in talks for Lowry. Mason Plumlee and Jason Terry were mentioned as possible pieces in the deal, but ESPN reports the Nets are unwilling to part with their 2020 first round draft pick as part of the trade.
While Ujiri begins to rebuild with younger players and draft picks, it's possible Toronto could be tanking for a chance at Canada-native Wiggins in the 2014 draft. Zagoria suggested the plan to tank based on a column by Cathal Kelly of Metro Canada.
"In off-loading flighty wing and human anvil Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has finally given the order for this season - 'Dive,'" Kelly wrote on Monday. "From the start, they said they'd give themselves 45 days to see what they had. Sunday was Day 40 of the season. They didn't need another week to remind themselves they aren't any good."
If Toronto (7-12) doesn't get Wiggins, the 2014 draft is loaded with potential talent to build around, including Duke's Jabari Parker and Kentucky's Julius Randle.
