After nine years spent with the Toronto Raptors, where he was undoubtedly the greatest player of that franchise's history, Kyle Lowry has signed a deal to join the Miami Heat as a sign-and trade point guard.Lowry made the announcement on social media that he would sign with Miami. Sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the deal-and-trade agreement with Miami would be for a three year contract, with an estimated value of $90 million.His agent Jason Glushon told Wojnarowski that the Heat had also agreed to bring back Duncan Robinson, a restricted free agent, on a 5-year deal worth $90 million. This deal is the largest for undrafted players and includes an option to terminate early in the fourth year.Lowry, who will join the Heat with Jimmy Butler, a close friend, and budding All-Star player Bam Adebayo as Miami attempts to retool following a remarkable appearance in the NBA Finals. Miami was swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in round one of this spring's playoffs.The Heat also retained Robinson as a key player. His sharpshooter was an essential element of Miami's offensive system. He was also the definition of a specialist with 613 out of 717 of his shots coming from long distance last season.He also set the Heat record for most 3s per season and, in his third season, set the NBA record as the fastest player to score 500 3-pointers in a single season.Robinson was undrafted from the University of Michigan in 2018. He signed a summer league contract for the Heat and then agreed to a two way deal for the next season. Robinson, 27, averaged 13.1 points per 72 games and was 40.8 percent from 3 to 8.5 attempts per match.Lowry's purchase by the Heat marks the end of an era in both his and the Raptors' careers. The 6-foot guard from North Philadelphia changed the course of his career since he arrived in Toronto nine years earlier. Lowry was a solid guard, who reached his third team in six NBA seasons before being traded to the Raptors by the Houston Rockets for guard Gary Forbes.Nine years later, he is a six-time All-Star and has been named to an All-NBA Team. He has established himself as one the most skilled point guards in the league, and many consider him the greatest player in franchise history.Lowry's departure was expected to occur several months before the NBA Trade Deadline in March. After receiving offers from the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Heat, Masai Ujiri, the team president of basketball operations, Toronto decided to keep Lowry.Ujiri stated that they would talk about the matter at a news conference on the night of the deadline. I think we'll discuss them when it comes to the end of the season. We all know Kyle and his passion for this ball club and the great things he has done for the city, the country and the league."Our team is capable of going in many directions. It's something I keep repeating. We're comfortable in whatever direction we take. We may have lost this chance, but we believe we gained some opportunities in other areas. With what we've been through this year, the team could pivot in many directions. We are right now in this situation.The Raptors have now found something to replace their star player who left them on Monday.It is still the end of an era for Toronto. DeMar DeRozan, Lowry's backcourt mate, helped the Raptors become a consistent playoff team. Things changed when DeRozan was traded to San Antonio in July 2018 for Kawhi Leonard. Lowry played a key role in the Raptors winning the title in the next year.Lowry is the Raptors' all-time leader for 3-pointers, assists and steals. He also ranks second to DeRozan in many other categories, including games, minutes played, points scored, and games. Lowry is in the top five for almost every category.Lowry's departure from the Raptors marks the end of the Raptors' glory years. Toronto reached the playoffs seven times in a row between 2014-20, two more than the five playoff appearances they had made over their first 18 years. Fred VanVleet (point guard), who resigned with the Raptors last season to receive the largest undrafted-free agent contract, along with forwards Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and forward Scottie Barnes. 4th overall pick in the NBA Draft last week.This report was contributed by ESPN's Royce Young.
