With plenty of trade noise surrounding the Miami Heat this offseason, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry has stayed relatively quiet.
As the highest-paid player on the Heat’s roster not named Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler, Lowry’s name has been brought up in some of the trade speculation for Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant in part because he’s on a salary that can help facilitate a deal. Lowry, 36, also has faced some outside criticism following a postseason that was derailed by a hamstring injury.
“I hear it. I don’t respond to it,” Lowry said cryptically when discussing what’s motivating him this summer during a recent podcast appearance on The VC Show with Vince Carter. “I have my social media, but I’m not even on my social media right now, to be honest with you. I only did this interview because you’re my man. I’m dark right now. I’m out of the way. I’m cool. I don’t need to speak.”
Lowry’s insight on Carter’s podcast marked some of his first public comments since the season ended. Lowry also stood in front of reporters last week when he returned to Toronto for a golf tournament for the foundation of Raptors coach Nick Nurse.
At the golf event, Lowry spoke about the impact that an off-the-court issue had on his first season with the Heat. The family matter has remained private, but it kept Lowry away from the Heat for nine consecutive games from Jan. 17 to Feb. 1 and another four games from Feb. 28 to March 5.
“I’m still dealing with it,” Lowry said to a group of reporters in Toronto of the family issue, with the Heat scheduled to open training camp on Sept. 27. “It’s a situation when it’s better, I’ll talk about it more, but it’s definitely something that kind of derailed my whole season and kept me derailed for a long time. Still to this day, it’s still something I deal with every single day, I actually got a phone call just now about it.
“It’s life, life happens and you just have to continue to get better and focus on the things you can control and try to help as best you can.”
Despite all of that, Lowry still made the Heat better last season.
After spending the previous nine seasons with the Raptors, Lowry averaged 13.4 points while shooting 44 percent from the field and 37.7 percent on threes, 4.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.1 steals last regular season. The Heat was also 2.5 points per 100 possessions better when Lowry was on the court.
“Spo is one of a kind, people, and he’s really good,” Lowry said to Carter. “We had a meeting in Vegas when I first agreed to the deal I signed [last summer]. I said, ‘Listen, coach. I understand the Miami Heat culture, I understand the Miami Heat way. I do.’ But I said, ‘But I’m a grown ass man and I do some grown man things.’ Spo was so receptive and so appreciative of it because I never did anything that harmed what they did, harmed the Heat culture. But at some point, we change the way we play and we change the way we act.”
As Lowry prepares for his second season with the Heat, he knows more will be expected from him moving forward. Heat president Pat Riley made that clear shortly after last season came to an end, when he challenged Lowry to “be in better shape next year.”
“Kyle had a challenging year for a lot of reasons and I don’t have to get into them,” Riley said in early June. “They were personal and there were other things. But he had a challenging year with the move and everything. Earlier in the season, he had some injuries and missed some time and there were some personal issues. But the bottom line with me and for me as far as hoping that you can get the most out of a player, I don’t have to go back and talk about it, is that you got to be in world-class shape. You just have to be.
“He’s not Tyler Herro. He’s not that lean kind of guy. But I think he can be in better shape, and I do believe that the pain of losing and the reminders that you send out about this might change his mind a little bit. But I do think that he can be in better shape next year.”
Carter didn’t specifically bring up Riley’s comment, but he did ask Lowry how he feels about the constant talk about his “thick” physique.
“It used to bother me a lot. It used to get to me,” said Lowry, who was listed at 6 feet and 196 pounds last season. “It used to really get to me, I’m going to be honest with you. Now, I don’t care. I’m in my office right now. For me, a man that’s never been crazy athletic and is thick or whatever, I’m looking at all-time steals leader, all-time something else, a 2016 Rio basketball [gold medal], a couple All-Star rings, a couple All-Star basketballs. Yeah, thick has been good for me. Listen, y’all can create all the memes you want. I embrace it. I love it.”
But Lowry has evidently accepted Riley’s challenge, with various photos circulating on social media from offseason workouts showing a leaner Lowry.
Lowry is due $28.3 million next season in the second year of a three-year, $85 million contract he signed with the Heat last offseason. He’s entering his 17th NBA season.
“Until I can’t,” Lowry answered when asked by Carter how much longer he wants to play. “This is how I think personally. When you tell your brain something, it starts to do it. So for me, I’ll say: ‘I’m going until I can’t.’ Why not? Until I don’t want to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning to go work out.
“Every year, I find ways to motivate myself. Right now, I’m even more motivated just because I had a chance to make it to another championship. I’m in Year 16, I got one championship. I’ve been in the playoffs a lot. But there’s something about that championship that I want another one. It’s just what I play for.”
JAE CROWDER SPECULATION
The Heat would be open to a trade involving Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder, according to two sources, but salary cap rules make a deal difficult at this time.
Crowder — a key part of the Heat team that advanced to the NBA Finals inside the Orlando bubble in 2020 — also appears to have interest in a return to Miami. He “liked” a South Florida sportswriter’s tweet regarding the potential fit between the Heat and Crowder. He also recently tweeted, without offering clarity: ”CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.. GROWTH IS OPTIONAL.!! I BELIEVE ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE… I WANNA CONTINUE GROWING.”
The difficulty for the Heat would be coming up with a package of salaries similar to the $10.2 million that Crowder is due to earn next season in the final year of a three-year, $29 million deal. That’s necessary to facilitate a trade. While it’s not impossible, it likely would require several players and perhaps another team to be included in a trade.
Unless the team acquires a starting power forward, the Heat intends to use small forward Caleb Martin for significant minutes at power forward this season. Miami also has the option of using small forward Jimmy Butler at power forward.
The Heat lost starting power forward P.J. Tucker to the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
SUMMER PLANS
Heat second-year center Omer Yurtseven and rookie forward Nikola Jovic will not play with their national teams this offseason at World Cup qualifying games or EuroBasket.
Yurtseven was expected to play on the Turkish national team and Jovic was invited to try out for the Serbian national team ahead of EuroBasket.
But both players will pass on those opportunities to have more time in the Heat’s summer developmental program in preparation for this upcoming NBA season.
