Kyle Lowry would like to be with the Toronto Raptors beyond next season.
“I want to be there," Lowry said at Team USA practice on Monday. "I would love to have an extension. We’ll see what happens. I would love to be here long term, but we’ll find out, and have that discussion when the time is right.”
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Lowry has been with the Raptors since the 2012-13 season, joining the franchise by way of a trade from the Houston Rockets. He's developed into a five-time All-Star and a one-time member of the All-NBA Third Team in Toronto.
Lowry has one more year remaining on his current contract, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020. Other potential unrestricted free agents next offseason include Andre Drummond, Danilo Gallinari and DeMar DeRozan, as well as three of Lowry's teammates in Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet.
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Lowry is widely considered to be the best point guard available.
Lowry's scoring dropped to 14.2 points per game in the 2018-19 season, but he averaged a career-best 8.7 assists per game. He also played a key role in the Raptors winning their first ever championship. Lowry saved his best for last, exploding for 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to defeat the Golden State Warriors.
Even without Kawhi Leonard returning, Lowry is looking forward to proving that the Raptors are still one of the best teams in the NBA.
“At the end of the day, we’re still going to be able to run it back," Lowry said. "We’re going to be the defending champions and we’re going to try to defend our title.
"I’m confident in what I can do, what our team can do.”