Kyle Lowry was linked with the Miami Heat for quite a long time before he ended up joining them in free agency. They were one of the main teams that were reported to be in pursuit of Lowry, and they ended up getting their man.
There were other attractive destinations for Kyle Lowry in free agency aside from the Miami Heat. However, it was reported that Kyle Lowry took less money ($5 million) from the Pelicans to sign with the Miami Heat. One could easily infer that Lowry wanted to be in Miami.
In a recent article by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Kyle Lowry revealed that his decision was heavily impacted by longtime friend Jimmy Butler. It is also mentioned that Butler called Lowry “one of my absolute best friends”.
Lowry said his friendship with Butler impacted his decision to join the Heat “a lot. A lot. Me and Jimmy, we’ve been talking about this for a long time now. He was continuing to chirp about it and talk to me about it [this summer].
But as a true friend, it doesn’t matter what decision I made; he was going to support me. But he was really on me about coming to the Heat and fulfilling some things that we talked about before. Now I’m looking forward to the opportunity to actually get back on the same team besides the Olympic team.”
Butler calls Lowry “one of my absolute best friends. As competitive as it is, we’re always laughing, always joking around.”
The Miami Heat will look to be competitive next season, and with Lowry’s acquisition, they look ready to be a championship team. They were in the NBA Finals in 2020, and it is possible Lowry’s addition will help them get back to the highest stage.
Kyle Lowry has shown that he is a championship-level point guard in the past, and he was the Raptors’ second-best player during the 2019 championship. Hopefully, his partnership with Butler on the Miami Heat will lead to similar results on the court.
