Getty Kyle Lowry and Marcus Smart
The Chicago Bulls are likely to make the point guard position their top priority this offseason and Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry is a free agent. Some are advising the Bulls to steer clear of the 6-time All-Star.
Pippen Ain’t Easy’s Garrett Brooks made a list of five players the Bulls should avoid in free agency, and he put the powerfully built and savvy Lowry at the top of his list. Brooks wrote:
He is the oldest player on the list at 35 years old. Somehow he is still playing at a very high level and could be one of the biggest additions in the league for the right team in free agency. That team is not the Chicago Bulls, though. First is his age and the fact that he would take up all of the Bulls cap space and then some. A multi-year deal is likely going to be desired by him and that just makes the Bulls even less of a fit. Remember that timeline with LaVine. Although Lowry would make them a fair amount better for at least one season, how long before the contract he signs becomes undesirable? Is it a risk worth taking for the Bulls? Absolutely not.
Not everyone is placing a “keep away” sign above Lowry’s head in relation to the Bulls.
Some Believe Lowry Could Help Make the Bulls a ‘Super Team’
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz likes the idea of the Bulls sending Tomas Satoransky and a 2025 first-round pick to the Raptors in exchange for Lowry in a sign-and-trade deal. He believes the new core would make Chicago a “super team.”
He wrote:
The Bulls get Lowry for a relatively low rate given Toronto isn’t operating from an area of leverage (take Satoransky and a first or lose Lowry for nothing), and a core of Lowry, LaVine, Patrick Williams, Thaddeus Young, Vucevic and Coby White packs plenty of scoring, playmaking and defense.
The term “super team” might be a little strong for the Lowry, LaVine, Williams, Young, Vucevic, and White core, but there is no doubting it would be dramatically improved over the 2020-21 roster.
Still, there are some issues present that Brooks mentioned.
Lowry and the Bulls Aren’t the Best Match
Chicago would love to make the postseason next year, but I don’t think even the most realistically optimistic Bulls fan believes the team will compete for a championship in 2021-22.
At 35, Lowry has no other choice than to be in win-now mode, which means he would be far ahead of his team’s situation in Chicago. We see this dynamic working with Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns, but what happens when the future Hall-of-Famer is gone, or age drains him of his abilities.
He won’t be at the same level the team has grown to expect, and the question is: will an adequate replacement be on the roster or within reach?
Chicago should focus on younger veterans or rising talents like Lonzo Ball to fill their point guard void. It is a better timetable match between player and team.
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