Kyle Lowry is traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves
In this trade, the Miami Heat would have to be willing to extend D’Angelo Russell to a long-term deal. I don’t think the team would want to include draft capital and a rotation player if they were going to acquire a player that was just going to be viewed as a rental. Plus, they also get a big that would help with their need in the frontcourt.
The Heat would also be sending Max Strus, a valued contributor that is on an expiring contract, to the Wolves in an attempt to spice up the offer. On the other hand, the Wolves would have to be somewhat sure in the fact that Kyle Lowry still has something left in the tank. Quite frankly, I’m not sure that’s an easy conclusion to come to.
At the same time, the Wolves would gain at least a little flexibility. Lowjry could still be flipped during the offseason as an expiring contract if it does get bad (or simply isn’t a good fit) during the second half of this season.
I’m not sure if the Wolves are ready to move on from Russell, but this is certainly something that has to be considered over the next few days.