The Toronto Raptors are putting off plans of trading guard Kyle Lowry as management is expecting the team to make the playoffs after the team improved its play following the trade of forward Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein is reporting that the Raptors might keep Lowry for the rest of the season, despite a lot of interest by other teams on the explosive point guard.
"Word is new GM Masai Ujiri continues to resist locking into any sort of firm position - leaving open the possibility of a Lowry deal if the offers suddenly get sweeter - but team officials appear to be growing increasingly comfortable with the idea that it's better to go for what would be just Toronto's third playoff berth in 13 seasons rather than try to do the absolute uber-tanking it would take from here for the 17-17 Raps to get into Andrew Wiggins range now," Stein wrote.
Because it is playing in the weaker Eastern Conference where only four teams as of this writing have winning records, the 18-17 Raptors are seeded fourth as of the moment. If the playoffs would start today, the Raptors would be playing with homecourt advantage in the first round.
By trading the trigger-happy Gay, the Raptors have refocused their offense around DeMar DeRozan. The team has also improved its defense, giving up 95.8 points per 100 possessions which ranks third overall in the league.
On Saturday night, the Raptors also became the first team to beat the Brooklyn Nets in 2014 with a 96-80 victory, snapping the Nets' season-high five game winning streak.
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