On the eve of the start of the NBA's free agency period, the Heat are reportedly angling to be frontrunners to land All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry in a sign-and-trade with the Raptors, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agency officially opens on Monday at 6 p.m. ET, but teams can still prepare sign-and-trade agreements ahead of time. Two key players in the deal from Miami are expected to be point guard Goran Dragić and forward Precious Achiuwa.
Lowry, 35, averaged 17.2 points and 7.3 assists per game last season, limited to just 46 games due to injury. He made six consecutive All-Star teams from 2015-20, and ranks second on Toronto's all-time scoring list to Chris Bosh.
Miami has already picked up Dragić's $19.4 million team option for next season. Dragić, 35, has spent parts of seven seasons with the Heat, and in 50 games last season averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 37.3% on three-pointers.
Achiuwa was a first-round pick in 2020 and showed promise during his rookie season. In 61 games, he made four starts and averaged 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game.
Lowry made $30 million in the final year of his contract and is reportedly seeking similar value in his next deal. Miami does not have the cap space to sign him outright at that price point, which would necessitate a sign-and-trade.
