Apr 10, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) drives to the basket against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Lowry thought he was a going to be a member of the Knicks back in December of 2013 and was ready to move!



According to Jeff Zillgit of the USA TODAY Sports, Kyle Lowry was prepared to become a member of the New York Knicks back in 2013.

The Toronto Raptors at that time was setting the stage to rebuild their team. Toronto was severely under performing, starting the 2013–2014 season with a 6-12 record, prompting management to decide to trade away the Raptors’ leading scorer Rudy Gay, blowing the team up. Gay was sent to the Sacramento Kings in a seven player trade.

The traded prompted DeMar DeRozan and Lowry to take a leadership role. Knowing full well that if they did not step up, they too would be shipped out soon.

That almost came true for Lowry in December of 2013, when there were many speculations of the point guard being traded to New York for Raymond Felton, Metta World Peace plus Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr. or a 2018 first-round pick. Lowry himself believed the rumors to be true.

“That deal was done,” Lowry told USA TODAY Sports Toronto Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry was ready to pack his bags and contact a real estate agent in December of 2013. He thought Toronto was trading him to the New York Knicks.

Lowry was ready to move to New York, but then Knicks’ owner James Dolan stepped in and vetoed the trade. Dolan did not want to look like a fool again (too late…), being ridiculed for giving up way too many assets in the Carmelo Anthony blockbuster trade with Masai Ujiri and the Denver Nuggets, as per Frank Isola of the Daily News.

“Dolan didn’t want to get fleeced again by Masai,” was how one Knicks source put it. “They had a deal ready.”

Fortunately for Lowry the trade was not completed and went on to a phenomenal season, averaging 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. Lowry led the Raptors to 48 despite the poor-start to the season, making the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

In 2014-2015, Lowry continued his strong play and it garnered him his first All-Star appearance. This season Lowry is an All-Star again, behind a career year, averaging 21 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.3 per game. More importantly, Lowry has led the Raptors to a 35-17 record at the All-Star break, which is good for the second-seed in the Eastern Conference.

Things could not have worked out any better for Lowry, and he believes it worked out for New York as well per Jeff Zillgit.

“At the end of the day, the decision was made for me to be here and it worked out equally, perfectly for both parties,”

In a way, it has worked out… If the Knicks had acquired Lowry, there would have been no way New York would have only won 17 games last season… Which led the way for the Knicks to have the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, thus selecting the unicorn that is Kristaps Porzingis.

Although, it would have definitely been interesting to see what a Lowry and Anthony pairing would have looked like. BUT it is definitely MORE interesting to watch Porzingis!