The trade became official today: Kyle Lowry is a member of the Miami Heat, and in that deal Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa became members of the Raptors.
Whatever Masai Ujiri is building next in Toronto, 35-year-old Dragic will not be part of it. The expectation around the league is that the Raptors would flip him in a trade to another team, or just buy him out. So far, Ujiri and the Raptors have done the opposite, reports Marc Stein in his must-subscribe newsletter.
The Raptors might ultimately trade Goran Dragić after completing their sign-and-trade deal with Miami that will send Kyle Lowry to the Heat, but they have resisted external interest in Dragić thus far, league sources say. Dallas, I’m told, is among the teams that has tried to acquire him via trade and remains interested in acquiring Dragić after missing out on Lowry. Toronto appears to have other plans for now — which certainly don’t include buying him out. In the wake of Dragić’s emotional Miami exit, Dallas is obviously an appealing destination since it would team him with his fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic.
With Lowry gone, the real business of rebuilding the Raptors begins, with it happening around some combination of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam (probably), Gary Trent Jr. (and his big new contract), Fred VanVleet, and just drafted Scottie Barnes. The Raptors will be looking for more players and picks to go with them.
At some point, the Raptors are probably going to trade Dragic. It is the logical move, and can bring back players on the timeline of their younger stars.
But for now, nothing is happening.
Here’s more on the Raptors
Raptors re-signing Khem Birch to three-year, $20M contract PBT Podcast: Offseason superlatives Masai Ujiri staying with Raptors
Report: Raptors not buying out Dragic, also not trading him (yet) originally appeared on NBCSports.com