The Miami Heat will not use the waive-and-stretch provision on point guard Kyle Lowry, according to NBA insider Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Lowry is due $29.7 million next season in the final year of the three-year, $85 million deal he signed with the Heat in 2021. The Heat would like to trade the former Toronto Raptors star in a package for Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard, but Lillard hasn’t requested a trade. If the Heat can’t trade Lowry, they are comfortable having him on the roster next season.
“After considering multiple options with Kyle Lowry, the Heat has decided against one of them: waiving and stretching his contract. The Heat instead is now focused on using his salary in a trade for Damian Lillard or another potential deal, according to a league source,” Jackson wrote. “Miami also is comfortable beginning next season with Lowry on the roster if he isn’t traded this summer. More trade opportunities could open before next February’s trade deadline.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyle Lowry & Miami Heat Updates
One theoretical option the Heat could utilize if Lowry is not moved in a trade would be to use the waive-and-stretch provision to reduce the immediate cap hit to move on from him. However, again, they do not plan to utilize it due to facing a $9.9 million dead cap hit each season through 2025-26.
“Two people in contact with the Heat said Miami had considered using the waive-and-stretch provision on Lowry, which would have meant absorbing cap hits of $9.9 million each of the next three seasons instead of a $29.7 million hit on next year’s cap, should he remain with the team. But the Heat ultimately has decided against that, according to a source, in part because the $9.9 million cap hits in 2024-25 and 2025-26 would be burdensome.”
A six-time All-Star, Lowry averaged 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 2022-23 while shooting 40.4% from the field, 34.5% from beyond the arc and 85.9% from the free-throw line. The 37-year-old put up 9.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in the 2023 playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyle Lowry & Miami Heat Updates
Lowry has career averages of 14.6 points and 6.3 assists. The Heat, who lost to the Nuggets in the 2023 Finals, are hoping that Lillard requests a trade so they can make a blockbuster trade for him. Lillard and Miami All-Star center Bam Adebayo are very close friends.
Heat star Jimmy Butler and Lowry are close friends, but Pat Riley doesn’t care about feelings. He wants to win at all costs.
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