MIAMI — A recent Miami Herald article indicates Kyle Lowry is finally available as the Miami Heat discuss trade options of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday.
In a Monday episode of the Locked On Heat podcast, hosts Wes Goldberg and David Ramil discussed why that change in tone from Miami was predictable and likely to benefit the team.
“It just makes sense for Miami to take whatever calls possible,” Ramil said. “Lowry is no longer the player that they had hoped he would be when they signed him, because he’s fallen out of favor with (head coach) Erik Spoelstra, and because they have other (guard) options on the roster in Gabe Vincent, Victor Oladipo, Tyler Herro and others.”
The Heat are 10-7 since Jan. 1, and Lowry has missed five of those 17 games.
“A lot has changed. First of all, the Heat have been winning,” Goldberg said. “But you can’t credit Lowry for the winning, either, so while you feel good about where your team is, it almost if anything bolsters the idea that ‘we’re winning games, we haven’t need Kyle Lowry to win games’ … so if we can move Lowry and potentially improve this team this year, that’s a thing we feel good about.”
Miami has also seen growth out of its young players, especially Hero and Bam Adebayo, that make a veteran on a big contract less valuable than when Miami signed Lowry in 2021.
“It just seems like he’s been marginalized on this team,” Goldberg added. “This is a Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler-run offense now, and Kyle Lowry just doesn’t have as much of a role to play in it. … It just feels like you could allocate the resources that you’re right now allocating to Kyle Lowry elsewhere in a way that helps your team.”
The Heat may not find an eager suitor for 36-year-old Lowry, but Miami purposefully exploring a trade is likely to be a step in the right direction overall.