Lowry returns to Raptors on reported 3-year, $100M deal

Free-agent point guard Kyle Lowry announced Sunday on The Players' Tribune that he is re-signing with the Toronto Raptors.

Lowry will earn $100 million over the next three seasons, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical.

The 31-year-old cited his appreciation for the city of Toronto as the principal reason he stayed.

I’m coming back to Toronto because my heart is telling me that it’s home — and because staying home, for me and my family, feels like the right thing to do. My heart is telling me that this is the best city in the world, with the best basketball fans in the world. It’s telling me that the Raptors can be a championship-level team, sooner than later. And I’ll be honest (and don’t hate) — it’s telling me that I’ve still never had poutine.

But most of all: It’s telling me that, if you’re looking for people to believe in — choose the people who believed in you first.

And if you start something?

Man, you finish it.

Putting aside the semantics, this deal represents a compromise between the Raptors and Lowry. The annual value is a win for Lowry, since he is essentially earning the max, while the Raptors maintained flexibility by limiting his term to only three seasons.

With Serge Ibaka also inked to a three-year deal, and with four years left on DeMar DeRozan's contract, the timeline for the Raptors is clear. The three years to come represent Toronto's contention window in a weakened Eastern Conference. If they come up short, the Raptors can easily pivot into a rebuild.

The Raptors, however, are now capped out to the point where they would need to shed some salary to duck the luxury tax next season. Cory Joseph, DeMarre Carroll, and Jonas Valanciunas have all come up as players who could be moved to preserve the cap.

Lowry represents the foundation of Toronto's success over the past four seasons. The two-way floor general averaged 22.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and seven assists last season and ranked as a top-10 player by ESPN's Real Plus-Minus.