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Raptors, Kyle Lowry agree to one-year, $31 million extension after winning NBA title, per report

Teams that were potentially hoping to land veteran guard Kyle Lowry in free agency next summer will now have to wait another year. On Monday morning, the five-time All-Star, fresh off an NBA title, agreed to a one-year, $31 million contract extension with the Toronto Raptors, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Lowry, 33, had one year remaining on the three-year, $100 million deal that he signed with the Raptors as a free agent in 2017, and he was set for unrestricted free agency in July. Now, he has two season and $64 million left on the books with Toronto, and he won’t be a free agent until 2021. The two sides had been working to get a deal done for some time. Lowry’s new deal has a bit of history attached to it, as with it he becomes the first player older than 33 to get an extension that includes a first-year salary-cap hit north of $30 million.

Lowry joined the Raptors in 2012, and he played a major role in turning the franchise into a perennial playoff team, as well as helping them win their first NBA title last spring. He has been named to five straight All-Star games, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016. He is the longest-tenured Raptors player. 

“I think it’s been a long time,” Lowry said of his time in Toronto at media day last week, via the NBA. “I’ve been here the longest now. I’ve been through the ups, downs. I was able to help bring a championship here from the times where they were talking about tanking for certain players. I’m not saying I’m the sole reason but I feel like I have a big part of it.”  

During his seven seasons in Toronto, Lowry has earned the respect of everyone from the fans, to the front office. Just last week, team president Masai Ujiri discussed the legacy that Lowry is leaving in Toronto. 

“Kyle has an incredible legacy here that I think we have all underrated,” Ujiri said. “There’s legacy status for him in my opinion. Someone who has given it his all: five-time All-Star while we’ve been here — could have been a six-time All-Star, that first one was a close shave. We were all disappointed. I remember exactly where I was when we heard.

“Everything he’s given. We can say whatever we want about Kyle: He comes and he gives it his all on the court. He’ll give me a headache once a month, but that’s fine. That’s our relationship. I really respect him for that. We’ll always pay Kyle that respect.What he’s done for this city, for this ball club, is remarkable. You all know: We’re sitting here, there’s many of you here, you all know when we sat down here six years ago, and we would never write this script, this way, in any form of dreams. And this is where it is. I’m proud of him for that.”

Last season, Lowry averaged a career-high 8.7 assists per game to go along with 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Now, he will be tasked with keeping the Raptors competitive following the departure of 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard over the offseason.  

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