Getty Kyle Lowry is defended by Alec Burks during an April 11 game against the New York Knicks.
Following their first playoff berth in over eight years, the New York Knicks are hoping to ride the momentum of a winning season into the summer and free agency.
But that’s going to take finally making a splash at point guard, a position that’s eluded them for years.
One name they’re continuously being tied to is 2019 NBA Champion and six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry.
The 35-year old guard is headed for unrestricted free agency after spending the last nine years with the Toronto Raptors, where he’ll inevitably go down as the best player to ever play for the franchise.
And with the 2021 NBA Draft just days away, the league-wide rumor mill is hard at work, spinning a number of narratives and reports into focus.
For the New York Knicks, that means almost any and every available name.
But one recent report is tying them to Kyle Lowry ahead of this offseason, and stronger than ever before.
Moore: Knicks are ‘Serious Suitor’ for Lowry
In his latest reporting for the Action Network, insider Matt Moore thumbed through all the latest buzz around the NBA, with three days away.
The New York Knicks weren’t mentioned until he got to Kyle Lowry’s free agency, but once they were, took up a solid portion of his reporting.
Firstly, he mentions them as well as the Dallas Mavericks as the latest suitors to emerge for the point guard:
Add two more serious suitors to the Lowry list: the Knicks and the Mavericks.
And secondly, he offers insight into the Knicks strategy with Lowry, a respectable one-year offer:
The Knicks are considering a one-year deal that would trump, the thinking goes, a multi-team offer in single-year salary. The Mavericks are thought to be pursuing a two-year deal for Lowry.
New York’s going to be operating with north of $50-million in cap space this summer, if not more.
It’s feasible to think they could outbid anyone on a one-year offer for Lowry.
And according to Moore, that’s what it’s going to take to secure a commitment from the veteran:
There’s always room for Lowry to change his mind, but the thought process right now is that you need to be willing to put serious money in front of him to gain his services.
There’s little doubt that the Knicks are performing due diligence and then some in their pursuit of the All-Star.
After seeing the successes of other teams who added prominently, veteran point guards, they’d be dumb not to.
In their second season with Mike Conley at the helm, the Utah Jazz recorded the best record in the NBA.
And in their first year with Chris Paul, the Phoenix Suns snapped a 10-year playoff drought and made the 2021 NBA Finals.
Mavericks Won’t Be Only Other Suitor for Lowry
The Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks may be considered the “serious suitors” for Kyle Lowry, but trust that the actual pool of interested teams is far more vast.
All of the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and New Orleans Pelicans have already been reported.
But the last of those may prove the biggest obstacle for Dallas and New York.
The Pelicans made the first trade of the offseason on Monday night, swapping first-round picks (among other things) with the Memphis Grizzlies.
That move opened up a serious amount of cap space for New Orleans, reportedly to make a run at Kyle Lowry.
So it appears that the Knicks will have their work cut out for them.
Regardless, Moore’s point still stands. If Kyle Lowry is out for a big payday above all else, no team makes more sense to sign with than the New York Knicks.
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