Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell hated being asked about his players’ health. He detested it so much that he developed an automatic response to any inquiry about an injury or the conditioning of one of his charges.



“Do you see a medical degree in my back pocket?” went the refrain.



Now, without actually checking Mitchell’s always-trendy slacks, the point was clear: Mitchell was not a doctor, and to save the questions for those who knew better than him.



Kyle Lowry has not taken the same approach. Last Monday, a day removed from his Raptors’ exit from the playoffs, Lowry confronted many queries about his impending free agency. He danced around most of them, saying his paramount concern was winning, and he had thought about little else concerning his big decision.



If you dug a bit deeper, though, Lowry was clearly selling himself. Lowry turned 31 in March, and he could earn a five-year contract worth about $207-million,...