Should the Sixers Trade for Kyle Lowry?

With the NBA Trade Deadline fast approaching, multiple teams will begin to emerge as buyers and sellers.

Typically, teams who are making the push towards an NBA Championship will be the major buyers. And with the Sixers in the pole position in the East, we can assume they will be making some moves before Thursday’s deadline.

One of the key names being floated around the Sixers has been the Toronto Raptors’ point guard and Philadelphia native, Kyle Lowry.

The former NBA All-Star has been one of, if not the biggest, name who may potentially be on the move at this year’s deadline.

Simply put, should the Sixers trade for Kyle Lowry?

Beginning first with the “when there’s smoke, there’s fire” portion on Lowry’s side of things, the Raptors’ star has reportedly sold his house in Toronto and told those he is close with that he is going to be traded this year. Whether that is true to the Sixers or not is still to be seen, but, as mentioned in the opening section, the Raptors may appear to be sellers this year.

Sitting currently at the 11-seed, being two and a half games back of the play-in tournament, and riding an eight-game losing streak at the time of writing, the Toronto Raptors may not be seeing the playoffs this year.

When teams begin to realize that the season will be a wash, they will often sell off expiring assets to replenish the team for next season. Because the Raptors aren’t going to be making a push to the playoffs through this up-and-down season, and the true emergence of fellow guard Fred VanVleet as a true starting point guard for the Raptors, Lowry appears to be that asset that will be sold off to the highest bidder.

Therein lies this issue for the Sixers, however. How high of a price would the Sixers truly have to pay for Lowry?

The most common package thrown around for Kyle Lowry would be Danny Green, either Matisse Thybulle or Tyrese Maxey, and multiple draft picks. That is a hefty price for a player in Lowry who will be an unrestricted free agent next year. There is a difference between a team looking to go all-in on a championship and mortgaging your future to try and improve your team.

If that is truly the package that it would take to acquire Lowry, it seems as though it would be too much for the Sixers. Both Maxey and Thybulle have shown extraordinary skills this season. Although Maxey’s skills are still a bit raw, he has shown that he can score at the rim and be a distributor for the second unit on offense. And Matisse has emerged as a potential All-NBA caliber defender.

There are ways to make the deal worth it, though. If the Sixers can lower the asking price and/or get some assurances that this will not be a one-and-done year for Lowry, they can make a more reasonable deal.

This is not a deal that can be made overnight and will take some discussion from both sides. Lowry would undoubtedly improve the Sixers roster, especially offensively, but we cannot fall into the latter category of team mentioned previously, wherein we mortgage our own future.

Do you think the Sixers should pull the trigger on a trade for Kyle Lowry?

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