miaowang123: in trying to determine what happened,"

in trying to determine what happened,"

15 Jun 2018 at 02:34

TORONTO - For many, it would have already become an elephant in the room, an awkward matter best ignored. Sam Darnold Jersey . For Kyle Lowry, its become an accepted reality. He will be traded. The question is, when and where? The Raptors point guard is widely believed to be next on general manager Masai Ujiris chopping block after the first domino - Rudy Gay, Lowrys best friend - fell last week. On Thursday, multiple outlets - namely ESPN and Yahoo Sports - linked Lowry to trade discussion with a number of interested teams, including the Knicks and the Nets. A day later, as the Raptors got set to host the road-weary 76ers, the easy answer for Lowry would have been none at all. He could have brushed off the reports, spouted off cliches or dodged the media all together. But he did no such thing. "Honestly, I started hearing [the rumours] once I left here for practice [Thursday] and then it was crazy for, like, four hours," he said Friday morning. "At night, I turned my phone off and went to sleep. I wake up, if Im traded, Im traded and if not, Ill come to shootaround." "Everybody read everything yesterday, seen everything yesterday. To this point, Im still a Raptor and Im focused on tonight, playing against the 76ers." Moving Lowry, who was acquired by the previous regime prior to last season, has become a priority for Ujiri. Averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 assists through 20 games, Lowry - owed $6.2 million this year - will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and its clear he is not part of the Raptors long-term plans. Lowry has not been in contact with Ujiri regarding his future and doesnt plan to reach out. "If he trades me, then Ill talk to him," Lowry said. "Hes always been a GM thats been kind of in the background. Hes not in the forefront, he lets us play and thats how hes been this whole year." Although one report stated that hes wanted to be moved for most of the season, Lowry clarified that he has not asked the Raptors GM for a trade. "No, none whatsoever," said coach Dwane Casey, asked if Lowry has expressed a desire to be traded. "Thats the first Ive heard of that and Ive never heard of Kyle or sensed Kyle wanted to be traded at all. I have no knowledge of that." While the market for Gay was limited, leading to Sundays sudden seven-player deal with Sacramento, theres far more interest in Lowry and his affordable, expiring contract. With that in mind, Ujiri will not be rushed into moving his starting point guard. Lowry is a professional and has obvious motivation to continue playing hard, auditioning for his next contract, but his inevitable departure is an obvious distraction to him and the rest of the team. "Yeah of course, I mean no one can say it doesnt [weigh on them] but at the same time, you have to know that this is a business," he stated. "You have to know the situation you are in, the situation that youre going to be in. You cant let it affect you too much because you still have to go out here and do a job and try to win for the team youre playing for." He and his teammates are trying their best to approach the seemingly uncomfortable situation with a sense of humour. "We all read HoopsHype," he admitted with a smirk on his face. "You see it everyday, you see it whenever they update it and everyone talks about it. But we joke about it a little bit. We make it more of a lighter-type thing, dont make it a heavy-hearted thing, make it like a joke, like hey man, you still here?" For now and until Ujiri finds an offer he likes, Lowry remains a Raptor. He will continue to play and play hard, because its the right thing to do but mostly because its in his best interest. All the while, his eventual replacement and newly-acquired point guard Greivis Vasquez will back him up and even spend some time alongside him in the Raptors backcourt. The situation is what it is. It will be as awkward as the team allows it be, until - in the very near future - its dealt with, until speculation finally becomes reality. Until then, we wait and so does the team and its point guard. Joe Namath Jersey . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim ;Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year. Joe Namath Jets Jersey . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season.TAMPA, Fla. -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said Tuesday, "We are sufficiently concerned about what weve heard to begin an investigation." Freeman said in a statement released by his agent late Monday that he voluntarily entered the substance-abuse program and submitted to random testing more than a year ago after he mistakenly took Ridalin instead of Adderall to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The Bucs benched the fifth-year pro last week after Freeman played poorly in the teams first three games, all losses. The quarterback believes someone within the Bucs organization leaked information about him being in the leagues drug testing program. Smith was in town Tuesday to meet with Tampa Bay players as part of a league-wide tour to discuss player benefits and other union matters. Meanwhile, coach Greg Schiano said he was "absolutely not" the source for an ESPN report that Freeman is in Stage I of the substance-abuse program. Freemans statement, released through agent Erik Burkhardt, said he has passed all 46 drug tests hes taken for the league since entering the program. The quarterback said he is "prescribed and permitted to take medication" to treat ADHD for the entirety of his NFL career and that he has never tested positive for "any illegal drugs or related substances." While Schiano said league rules dont permit him to comment on the situation, he did respond to questions about whether he was involved in leaking any information. "I really dont want to get into what Joshs thoughts are about how things got out. I know what Ive done, and Im 100 per cent comfortable with my behaviour," the coach said. "Certainly thats not what you want to happen at all. But, alluding to the accusations, I dont appreciate that either whhen someones accused of something thats not true," Schiano said. Sam Darnold Jets Jersey. . "At the end of the day, its not a good thing, and we need to just keep moving forward beyond it." Smith did not discuss specifics, either. "I will say this, we have a collective bargaining agreement that mandates and protects confidentiality and privacy." Smith said. "If we believe that any member of the team management or anyone from the league has deliberately taken steps to thwart that privacy and breach that confidentiality, this union will take every step and file every grievance and pursue any law to rectify that. "I appreciate the manner in which Josh has handled this personally because hes a good young man. But this issue is a bigger issue about whats right with respect to the relationship between player and management," Smith added. "And when those issues come to bear, this is a union that will stand up for its players." Freeman said random testing has been conducted at the Buccaneers training facility "because I spend all of my time there and I have nothing whatsoever to hide or be embarrassed about." The quarterback was declared inactive for last Sundays game against Arizona. He watched from a suite at Raymond James Stadium as rookie Mike Glennon made his pro debut during a 13-10 loss that dropped the Bucs to 0-4. "I think we are sufficiently concerned about what weve heard to begin an investigation. I believe that the league has the same interest that we have in trying to determine what happened," Smith said, adding that hes looking forward to working with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league officials on the matter. "Its also important for all of our players and the fans to know our system works if people abide by the rules," Smith said. "If we have a concern that the rules have been intentionally broken, then no one is going to be exempt from the consequences." Discount Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Camo China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ThrowbackWholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '



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