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TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry walked off the podium, on a day in which he cleaned out his locker following a heartbreaking end to his career season, he looked back at the throng of media that had just finished grilling him on his future. John Burkett Jersey . "Goodbye, everybody," he shouted. What he really meant was, see you later. With the wounds of a Game 7 loss beginning to heal and the dust settling on the season that was, the attention immediately shifted to Lowry, an impending free agent, and whether or not hell be back in a Raptors uniform next fall. Although the star point guard is prohibited from putting pen to paper until the NBAs moratorium period concludes after the first week of July, there is a resounding belief within Torontos locker room that he is planning on sticking around. It was written on the face of his teammate and good friend DeMar eRozan as the all-star guard deflected question after question regarding Lowrys future with the subtlety of a hand grenade. Will it be difficult to watch Lowry go through the free agency process? "No, no, no," he said Monday afternoon, accompanied by a big smirk. Why not? "Because," he replied, as reporters began to snicker. "No" How would you feel if, for whatever reason, he wasnt back? "Im not worried about that," DeRozan insisted. Do you know something we dont? "I didnt say that. I didnt say he was, I didnt say he wasnt. I just said Im not worried about it." The 24-year-old spends the bulk of his summers working out in Las Vegas. If that was his poker face, its a good thing he rarely strays from the gym. "Why would he leave?" DeRozan asked in the rhetoric a day earlier.  A fair question and one Lowry could not find an answer for when pressed shortly after Torontos one-point loss and first-round elimination to the Brooklyn Nets.  "Of course I can see myself back," said the Raptors point guard. "We just went to Game 7, first round. Nobody expected us to be there. Of course I can see that." Coming off a breakout campaign in which he averaged career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.4 assists, the 28-year-old will take his time and weigh his options before making a decision, that much he made clear.  "At the end of the day, its still a business and you have to be a businessman for the situation that youre in," he said, "but I am very happy. This has been one of the best seasons Ive had, through and through. Best coaches, teammates, [front office]. Its been great. I am happy. Without a doubt, I can say Im happy." While money and the terms of his next deal should play a big part in the negotiation process that will take place in roughly two months, its hard to put a price on happiness. Thats something that any other suitor may have difficulty matching. Finally, in his eighth NBA season, Lowry started to scratch the surface of what many believed had been there all along. Only, it very nearly played out at Torontos expense. "We knew if we lost [after the Rudy Gay trade] it was going to get blown up," Lowry wisely pointed out. "Thats just the fact that, once we made the trade, if we would have lost a little more, I probably wouldnt be sitting here today, just being honest." As it turned out, the Raptors were his perfect storm. For the first time, he was entrusted to lead a team without looking over his shoulder or pretending to be something hes not. He came to training camp with a rejuvenated approach, in the best shape of his playing career.  "The most important difference Ive seen in Kyle is his ability to lose weight," said Patrick Patterson - a teammate of Lowrys in Houston - with a straight face, if you can believe it. "When he was in Houston, he was on the heavy side." He and DeRozan formed the leagues second-highest scoring backcourt, only behind the Golden State Warriors "Splash Brothers" of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. "Why wouldnt you want to be on a team with a guy like that?" he said of DeRozan. Most of all, hes grown up.  A year ago he stood in the Raptors practice gym, head down, embarrassed after a lost season and promised to be back, better than ever. "[Im] very disappointed for myself because I know Im a much better player than what Ive shown this year," he had said on Apr. 15, 2013. This version of Lowry, sitting at the front end of the ACC media centre, couldnt have been more dissimilar. Hes channeled the very things that used to work to his detriment - his hardheaded, stubborn nature - to become an indispensable player. As a result, he has a greater understanding and appreciation for whats important to him at this stage of his career. First and foremost, his priority is to win.  "I want to be happy," Lowry repeated, identifying overall team situation as the primary factor in making his decision. "I want to win, but its something that me and my agent, we have yet to talk about. But I know I want to win, and thats important to me." How does Toronto stack up? "I love this place," he exclaimed. "I love the situation. Its simple as that." No, Lowrys not going anywhere. The Raptors give Lowry his best opportunity to win and Lowry does the same for the Raptors. They need each other. "Kyles like my biggest brother," said sophomore Terrence Ross. "I look up to him, ask for advice on a lot of different things, on and off the court. Hes hands down the best point guard Ive ever played with. Hes taught me a lot. He motivates everybody. I really hope he comes back. I even talk to him all of the time, saying You got to come back, youre basically the heart of the team, we need you to come back." Lowrys response to Ross frequent sales pitches; "He always played it off like weve got to worry about something else right now." Now, Lowry tops the teams offseason agenda. Hes their highest priority and it wont take long after the clock strikes 12:01 AM on July 1 for Masai Ujiri and agent Andy Miller to sit down and finalize an agreement to keep the star point guard in Toronto long term. "We wouldnt have been here if it wasnt for Kyle," DeRozan said. "Kyle is an elite player," added Patterson, "and as far as him staying here, Im sure a lot of people in Toronto would love that. It all depends on him. But definitely if Toronto wants to get better in the future, have someone to build around and be the key, the glue for the basketball team, what better person to start with than Kyle?" Red Schoendienst Jersey . Setting United on its way to a 2-0 victory, Rooney sent the ball high from inside the halfway line over goalkeeper Adrian after just seven minutes. "Its just instinct, Ive turned and had a quick look and seen the goalkeeper off his line," Rooney said. Barry Zito Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Charlotte Hornets are still waiting for the Lance Stephenson experiment to pay major dividends and will try to stop a nine-game losing streak Wednesday versus the visiting Chicago Bulls. The Hornets have three straight chances at home to stop the losing streak and will also host New York and Boston. They have lost five in a row at home and are 3-6 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Stephenson and the Hornets are coming off Saturdays 105-75 beatdown at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, and the first-year Hornet had just six points, three assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes. Stephenson has scored in single digits three times over the last four games and is posting an average of 9.6 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds with 5.4 assists. Charlotte landed Stephenson this offseason in hopes of heading back to the postseason playing alongside Al Jefferson. Jefferson has kept up his end of the bargain and recorded 11 points against the Hawks. Jefferson leads the Hornets with 20.0 points The Hornets shot 33 percent and made only 5-of-23 3-pointers against the Hawks. P.J. Hairston scored 15 points and Gerald Henderson netted 14 for the Hornets, who were coming off close losses to Golden State and Portland. The Hornets were down by more than 40 points in the second half. Right now it doesnt matter what you tweak if you dont show up and play, Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. You have to give a professional effort, and that was not a professional effort. Cliffordss squad is off to a disappointing 4-14 start. Jason Schmidt Jersey. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (foot), Marvin Williams (shoulder) and Gary Neal (shoulder) are still bothered by injuries. Williams and Neal are questionable versus the Bulls. Charlotte lost 10 in a row from Feb. 20-March 9, 2013. After a quick stop at home, the Bulls are back on the road, where they went 4-3 on an annual circus trip. The Bulls dropped a 132-129 double-overtime decision to the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday at the United Center. The Bulls needed a 34-28 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to send the game into an extra period and both teams put up 13 points in the first OT. Mavs guard Monta Ellis scored a season-high 38 points and was clutch from the foul line to send the game into another stanza. Ellis buried a big 3-pointer in the second OT to fend off Chicago, which was led by Pau Gasols 29 points and 14 rebounds. It would have felt better if we won the game, Gasol said of his night. Unfortunately we lost. Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Mike Dunleavy added 20 and Derrick Rose finished with 10 and 10 assists. Rose banked in a 3-pointer as time expired in the first overtime. Chicago, which shot 45.6 percent and had 50-36 edge in the paint, will return home for three games versus Golden State, Brooklyn and Portland. The Bulls won three of four meetings with Charlotte last season and are 10-2 in the last 12 games in this series. Chicago has won six of the last eight trips to the Tar Heel State. ' ' '