New York Knicks Receive: G Kyle Lowry

Toronto Raptors Receive: F Julius Randle, G Dennis Smith Jr. 

The last 6 seasons, Kyle Lowry has been named an NBA All-Star and he has been the leader for the Raptors on and off the court, but his age is definitely something that needs to be taken into consideration for this franchise moving forward. Lowry will be turning 35 years old this season and with Toronto struggling to find success early on in the year, they really need to ask themselves how many more years Lowry can still contribute at a high-level. 

Lowry is in the final year of his contract and is owed $30M this season, which makes things complicated in terms of trading him, but the New York Knicks have the cap space to trade for the veteran guard and could offer up two attractive, young players in return.

Julius Randle has looked fantastic so far this season and looks like a definite NBA All-Star. In 9 games for the Knicks, Randle is averaging 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and is shooting 49% from the floor. 

Given the problems that Toronto has in their frontcourt, pairing Julius Randle with NBA All-Star forward Pascal Siakam could make a ton of sense, especially since the Knicks’ big man is only 26-years old and still growing as a player. Dennis Smith Jr. is also a young talent that the Toronto Raptors could look to improve with over the next few years.

Since joining the Knicks during the 2018-19 season, Smith Jr. has struggled to carve out a role and has been buried in the depth chart behind other guards. His athleticism and quickness is what makes him an intriguing young player, but he needs to be on the court in order to prove himself. Last year and this year combined, Dennis Smith Jr. is only averaging 17 minutes per game and is never really given an opportunity to prove himself in live-game action.

Without Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and rookie Malachi Flynn make up the Raptors backcourt, giving DSJ a legit opportunity to prove his worth and grow into a really reliable role player. Toronto has had success with athletic players like Norman Powell, O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, which is why they could find success with a new athletic guard. 

While they would likely want some draft picks if they were to get rid of the leader of their team, acquiring two young players with a lot of potential moving forward could really prove to be useful for the Toronto Raptors.

With that being said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.