Probably, I interpreted as Lowry realizing that was the place he wanted all along. But again, no one is arguing he wasn't open to leaving them. There's just more to such an important decision than who offered a deal first. It's not like he was some unproven young player who just had to get the best deal asap.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=12320892 Bill Simmons interviewed Kyle Lowry and other Allstars. When Simmons mentioned Morey trading for Lowry, Lowry called Morey "my guy" and said he was thankful to Morey for trading for him and giving him the opportunity to shine. Wish the team tried harder with Lowry, but good to hear that he still has good will towards the team.
Lowry would not have been an All-Star if he had re-signed with us. So even though we could have used him, I'm happy for him for his 1st All-Star appearance.
Lol calm down buddy. I guess I remembered the interview wrong, what I posted is what I thought I heard. Nobodies trying to push an agenda about this topic lmao!
If Houston offered a good contract to him, and he signed with the Rockets, then he would say different thing. That is just a logic thing. Just say Parsons case.
You are not wrong. It was posted right here in the thread I linked to earlier. I searched for the interview online after reading that initially but couldn't find it. I am genuinely interested in hearing the interview no matter what he said if someone can find it.
It's "naive" to think a non-max player would choose a destination other than Toronto if given the option? Seriously? All you have is quotes from Lowry and others AFTER he signed to support your opinion. You admit Lowry was interested in Houston. It's a fact that the Rockets were his first meeting and they told him they wanted him but not as bad as: Spoiler Yes, that's Kyle's jersey number. Did the Rockets actually make him an offer? No. So he wasn't actually given the option to leave Toronto for Houston. Yet to you it's "pretty clear" that Houston didn't stand a chance. When he "looked at the pros and cons", I'm thinking the part about Houston never actually offering Lowry a contract was a pretty big con. The fact is these situations usually come down to money. When there is no max contract in the equation, the current team has no advantage because the Rockets could have out-bid Toronto if they wanted to. A guy like Lowry has too much pride to accept being told to wait around while we try to sign other guys to max contracts who are not as good as he is. Once Morey pulled that crap then there was probably no chance of Kyle coming here, but to act like the Rockets had no ability to change that outcome is what is really naive.
Yes he would have. Rockets messed up by going after two losers that rejected Houston for the second time. Ouch. Kyle Lowry was not going to pass up a max offer on the table and wait for Rockets to decide if they wanted to go after their 3rd option. No one would have. Raptors took advantage of Rocket's miscalculations.
There were numerous interviews that pretty much confirmed that if Houston would have only gone after him he'd be here. Obviously us asking him to wait for what turned out to be weeks was too much, he wouldn't have put Toronto through that. Imagine how bad it'd look if he held out for those few weeks and Bosh ended up coming here, how do we know that Toronto's offer would have still been on the table? That would have looked awful on Lowry's part, he went with the team that wanted him from the get-go, even if it wasn't his first choice. He would have been a great addition here, but he would have never made the all star team so it's a mixed bag on his end.
I don't think Lowry ever had any interest in leaving Toronto. I think he wanted to say nice things about Houston to media to try to mend that relationship and not burn any bridges, but I think he likes staying in Toronto. I think Morey did the right thing pursuing Bosh. But I'm also glad it didn't work out. Just for fun, can you imagine how good of a lineup Lowry, Harden, Ariza, D-Mo, Howard would be? With Beverley, Terry, Brewer, Smith coming off the bench?
Way to flip my statement to fit your argument. That's not what I wrote or meant. So it all comes down to kyle being offended? That's weird because he has shown no signs of being bitter or upset at the organization. It's been quite the opposite actually. He has no reason to suck up to them now, but has spoken well of McHale and Morey. Sure doesn't sound like he was offended. And he had too much pride to wait for Houston because he thought he was a star talent too, but he would have been just fine taking their deal, if offered, and being the third option? Not to much pride that? Practically a demotion. What he did show and speak about before signing is how he grew up in Toronto and decided to change. So perhaps he wasn't offended by Houston. Perhaps he just made a grown man decision using grown man logic. In Toronto he gets exactly what he wants. In Houston, not as much, so why wait to hear back?
Do you really think Lowry wasn't going to hear Toronto out? He wouldnt have given them a meeting, if Morey had offered a deal? Morey would have offered a deal and then Kyle would have given Toronto their meeting, they offer the contract he can't refuse and he signs. Same result.
Lowry is a good player but putting him in our starting lineup would only help a bit since I don't feel that Lowry can create his own shot. Lowry is playing under a good system in Toronto that allows him to play inside out with his big man. Only thing Lowry has over Pat is the drive and maybe a slight bit better shot
Quite. Toronto was the only team that could offer him a 5th year, and an opportunity to run the show.
Kyle was going to hear Toronto out just like Dwight heard Lakers out. Out of courtesy. It was no secret that Toronto was going to offer Lowry the max. It was a no brainer for them. If anything, what was more telling was that Kyle gave the Rockets an early meeting and an opportunity. Rockets made the blunder of making two other guys their priority...the same guys that had already rejected them previously and pretty much blowing Lowry off by telling him he was not their first choice. Not exactly a great sales pitch. If both Houston and Toronto offered $$, Kyle would have gone with Houston. Problem is Rockets never made that offer. Players dont particularly like the city of Toronto. We are not talking about max vs min contract here. Kyle would have gotten paid either way. $$ + better city + opportunity to run the point with Dwight and Harden on a legitimate contender was easy picking.
The reason the Rockets treated him as a third option is because he would be their third option. That was no secret. An offer and a Ferrari wouldn't have changed that fact. Kyle isn't going to bite because they treated him well one night. He knew what would be waiting in Houston, a backseat to Howard and Harden. If Morey said or implied otherwise, he'd be lying, and Lowry and his agent would see through it. It seems to me, that players aren't thrilled to go there, but once they're there, they actually like it. They don't seem to have a problem keeping guys, not anymore than other cities, anyway.
Lowry seems to always do the mistake of signing too early and thus missing out on a lot of money. If he would've waited until after all the big fish signed, he would've easily gotten something like 15 million a year. I don't know if the Rockets would have seriously gone after him for that AFTER declining Parsons deal. At that time we had no SF and with the 15 million for Lowry we would basically have no money left. I think Morey really wanted Ariza, because he was a perfect fit. And I don't know if he was ready to go with a big 3 of Lowry, Harden and Howard with big questionmarks at SF, PF and backup C left. In hindsight of course we should have done just that. If we would have courted him as our first choice, missing piece for a championship and thrown 15 million at him, I am pretty sure he would have signed.
^Lowry had the rep of a talented headcase, so Toronto laying out their intentions and expectations of him definitely helped. I don't think he would've got more money at that time AND be in a situation he wanted. The Houston situation would've been something different with him mending fences with McHale (several games and practices worth of feeling each other out) and fitting in the Parsons role as replacement, a good to very good player but not being considered a cornerstone of the team. Remember, he would've banked 10 million if those early offers were true. Anyone can say it's all for winning, but as a #3 when you've been treated #1 before plus being in your prime, that stuff matters to players.
