4 Backups Toronto Raptors can sign for Kyle Lowry

The Toronto Raptors are the second best team in the NBA with just a mere .4% lower winning percentage than the Milwaukee Bucks who they beat Saturday, December 5th, 2019 123-116.

The Raptors lead the NBA with 29 wins. They employ an absolute basketball superstar in one Kawhi Leonard. They also boast perhaps the most improved player in the game and potential future superstar Pascal Siakam. OG Anunoby is another bright young star that the Raptors hope will break out soon and fourth-year player Norman Powell seems to have rediscovered his game after a disappointing season last year.

Overall, the Raptors are in the midst of completing a 6th straight successful season. Expectations are actually higher this year after they acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the San Antonio Spurs but they appear on track for hopefully at least the Eastern Conference Finals.

There are flaws with this team and the style of play head coach Nick Nurse has the roster implement on the court. They take lots of three-point shots (33 per game) but are 25th in three-point field goal percentage at 34.1%.

Nick Nurse’s decision to play small ball and separate big men Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas, by bringing Valanciunas off the bench, has meant the Raptors struggle with defensive rebounds and currently sit 12th in team defensive rebounds.

The injury bug has also hit the Toronto Raptors with Valanciunas currently out of the line up because of a broken thumb and Kyle Lowry day to day with back problems. But if Leonard is an absolute basketball superstar, Lowry is the absolute engine that makes the Raptors work like a well-oiled machine.

He is a distributor of the basketball setting up teammates with pinpoint passes leading to easy baskets. Lowry averages 9.8 assists per game this season. He is also a big shot maker bailing the Raptors out at the back end of shot clocks with long-range three-pointers or drives to the basket resulting in necessary points.

Lowry is also a defensive leader. He sacrifices his body taking charges and is 5th in the NBA having drawn 13 charges against opponents. Lowry rebounds extremely well for a point guard and averages 4.5 per game this season. The problem is Lowry’s back.

As deep a team as the Raptors are and as good as Fred VanVleet is, he is not Kyle Lowry. Lowry has now missed 11 games this season mostly due to injury and this is his second stint this season with back woes. The Raptors' offense struggles when he does not play. Here is a look at four potential players the Raptors could target in trades to strengthen their point guard spot and secure their elite status.

#1 Jeremy Lin (Atlanta Hawks)

The Atlanta Hawks already have their present and future secure at the point guard spot in Trae Young. With a record at 11-27, the Hawks are more interested at this stage in the NBA Lottery Draft in June.

Lin, in the last year of his contract, would be a perfect fit for the Raptors. Lin is only 30 years old and is the type of player that fits any role he’s given. He was nearly a New York Knicks' cast off in 2011 when he managed to start 25 of the 35 games he played that year scoring 14.6 points and averaging 6.2 assists per game. He has run the Houston Rockets offense in the 2012-13 season as well.

While he has been relegated to a backup role mostly since 2013 and is coming off of a knee injury, he would be backing up Lowry or VanVleet in Toronto. He would get starts when needed allowing VanVleet to continue coming off the bench. In cases where Lowry can’t play, Lin could be the primary ball handler and VanVleet could move to the two guard if they play together.

VanVleet tends to be a scorer more than a distributor. If head coach Nick Nurse chooses he could continue to start VanVleet in Lowry’s absence but bring Lin off the bench as the point and have a bigger 6’5 Delon Wright play shooting guard on the second unit.

Lin, in the last year of his contract, is getting paid $13.768 million for the year. The Raptors could offer up C.J. Miles, Greg Monroe and a 2nd round pick and make a play to obtain Jeremy Lin. The Raptors might even want to expand this deal and bring back one-time Raptor superstar Vince Carter who also toils for the Atlanta Hawks.

#2 Devin Harris (Dallas Mavericks)

Devin Harris is now 35 years old playing most of the last five seasons in Dallas Mavericks. He is currently day to day with a back problem. Devin Harris used to be a star point guard in the NBA. His best efforts came in a New Jersey Nets uniform especially in the 2008-09 season when he averaged 21.3 points per game and 6.9 assists per game.

Harris is averaging 15.5 minutes per game in the 35 games he has played this year. His experience running NBA offenses would be invaluable to the Toronto Raptors if Lowry’s back problems continue.

Harris only makes $2.3 million for the season so the trade options the Raptors could offer to satisfy the Mavericks would be both cheap and diverse. Second round draft picks, any combination of role players off the Raptors bench like Greg Monroe, Delon Wright, Lorenzo Brown and Malachi Richardson might be enough.

The real issue here is whether Devin Harris would be willing to leave Dallas for the Toronto Raptors as he has spent just under half his career in Dallas and is now in his third stint there.

#3 Detroit Pistons (Jose Calderon)

Now 37 years old, the Raptors would be bringing back a point guard that anchored that spot for them for 7 and a half seasons between 2006 to 2013. Calderon can knock down three-pointers (40.7%), has always had a great assist to turnover ratio (5.8 to 1.5 for his career) and is steady from the charity stripe at 87.2%. At age 36 last season, Calderon made 32 starts out of 57 games at the point guard spot for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Calderon would bring a veteran's calm and know how to the Raptors offense if Kyle Lowry is unable to play for any length of time. He is also a fan favorite in Toronto. At $2.4 million for this season, Calderon is in the final year of his contract so is not a player the Raptors would have to commit to long-term.

Detroit currently ranks Calderon third on their point guard depth chart with Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith ahead of him. Calderon averages 14.4 minutes per game with the Pistons. The Raptors may only need to part with a second round pick or a bit role player like Lorenzo Brown to acquire the Spaniard.

#4 JJ Barea (Dallas Mavericks)

JJ Barea is another veteran point guard with loads of experience who could help the Toronto Raptors if Kyle Lowry’s bad back does not respond quickly to treatment. Barea could give the Toronto Raptors a third NBA champion on their roster as Barea was a member of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks who beat Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and the Miami Heat.

A small guard at 6’0 feet tall, JJ Barea is in his 13th NBA season. His first five seasons were with the Mavericks, the next three with the Timberwolves. Now in his second stint of play and 5th consecutive season in Dallas, Barea may not want to leave for nostalgic reasons. However, Toronto gives him a great shot at winning another NBA title.

Barea would offer the Raptors a competent floor general who can handle the point guard duties and offers loads of experience for the younger Raptors to learn from. Barea would potentially become the third championship player on the Raptors roster.

This season, Barea, in 35 games and 19.8 minutes of gameplay, is averaging 10.9 points and 5.7 assists per game. Barea is in the last season of his contract at $3.7 million dollars. Again, the Raptors could offer a couple of second-round draft picks or a 2nd rounder and any one of young role players like Malachi Richardson and/or Lorenzo Brown.

The idea is for the Raptors to have insurance on the bench without breaking up the core of the team in case Lowry’s back is a bigger problem than it appears.

As it is now, Lowry was supposed to be probable for the game against San Antonio on Thursday last week and the Milwaukee game on Saturday but did not play in either contest. Since this is also the second flare-up of back trouble this season for Lowry, even if he declares himself fit today, when will the back problem flare up again?

Raptors' general manager Bobby Webster should have the answer to that question in place before it needs to be answered. He will want to ensure he has an emergency fill-in for Kyle Lowry. One of the few things that can prevent the Raptors march to a deep playoff run in 2019 is the injury bug and its knocking on the door of the Toronto Raptors.