July 7th, 2026 lives forever in Toronto Raptors’ franchise history as the day that Kyle Lowry returned to fulfill his promise to retire as a Raptor. Annointed ‘Kyle Lowry Day’, the date will forever be synonymous with the Greatest Raptor of All Time.
July 11th, 2012 won’t ever get the same recognition, but it’s arguably the most important day in the history of the franchise. On that day, almost exactly fourteen years prior to Lowry’s retirement, the Raptors finalized a trade to send Gary Forbes and a 2013 first round pick to the Houston Rockets to bring Lowry to Toronto.
It wasn’t the first time Lowry was traded, and it wouldn’t be the last, but it was by far the most meaningful trade in his career. Over the next nine seasons, Lowry built a legacy in Toronto. A legacy that will live on forever when his jersey hangs in the rafters and a statue is built outside of Scotiabank Arena (I’m speaking it into existence). While I would love to spend hours rambling about those Lowry’s time in Toronto, Raptors Republic’s Esfandiar Baraheni already reminisced better than I ever could. In this article we’re solely looking at Lowry’s trade tree and how it’s evolved over the years.
Before Lowry was traded to Toronto, he had already been traded once before. He began his career with the Memphis Grizzlies but on February 19, 2009 they traded him to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Adonal Foyle, Mike Wilks, and a 2009 first round pick that was used to select future Raptor, Demarre Carroll.
Lowry played three and a half seasons in Houston before being traded to Toronto in exchange for Gary Forbes and a 2013 first round pick which was later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the James Harden trade before being used to select Steven Adams. Lowry’s tenure in Toronto began quite rocky, but over time Lowry grew into the ultimate leader and franchise icon. Though he was nearly traded on numerous occasions, nothing ever came to fruition, and it paid off on both sides when Lowry led the team to their first and only championship in 2019.
As time passed, the Raptors strayed further and further from reaching those same heights. By the summer of 2021, two years removed from the Raptors championship season, it was clear that the Raptors were beginning to shift into a youth movement centered around Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and the newly drafted Scottie Barnes. Since Lowry was 34 years old at the time, it was clear to both sides that it was time for him to seek greener pastures. So on August 6 2021, the Raptors finalized a sign-and-trade to send Lowry to the Miami Heat in exchange for Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa. For Lowry that meant a final major payday and a chance to win another championship. For the Raptors, it meant that they at least got something back for the franchise legend.
While the trade marked an amicable ending between the Raptors and Lowry, things were far from amicable with the newly acquired Dragic. Just days after being acquired by the Raptors, when asked about his future in Toronto, Dragic said this:
Toronto is not my preferred destination. I have higher ambitions. We’ll see.
He later apologized for his comments and eventually came to Toronto to play 35 games for the team before they traded him on February 10, 2022. Dragic was traded with a 2022 first round draft pick (that became Malaki Branham) to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks, and a 2022 second round pick (that became Christian Koloko).
Fun fact: This was actually the second time the Raptors traded Dragic to the Spurs. In 2007, they traded a future 2008 second round pick to San Antonio in exchange for Georgios Printezis. The Spurs then drafted Dragic 45th overall and traded him two days later to the Phoenix Suns.
Eubanks was immediately waived by the Raptors, and Young played 103 games across three seasons for the Raptors before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets alongside Dennis Schroder for Spencer Dinwiddie who was immediately waived.
The other player the Raptors received in exchange for Lowry was Achiuwa, who had just finished his rookie season with the Heat and showed a lot of upside, he also matched the archetype the Raptors remain obssessed with. A six-foot-eight forward who can (theoretically) defend multiple positions and (try to) do a bit everything on offense. Unfortunately, Achiuwa never quite put it all together, and on December 30, 2023 he was included in the Raptors trade to send OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second round pick that later became Jonathan Mogbo.
As for Lowry, he played three seasons with the Miami Heat, making the Eastern Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once in 2023, losing in five games to the Denver Nuggets. On January 20, 2023 the Heat traded Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets with a 2027 lottery-protected first round pick in exchange for Terry Rozier. The trade was eventually amended to include a second round pick to Miami to resolve a dispute that arose due to an FBI and NBA investigation into Rozier’s gambling allegations.
On February 11, 2024 the Hornets waived Lowry and on February 13, 2024 he signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Lowry spent three seasons with his hometown 76ers before his retirement on a one-day contract with the Raptors on July 7, 2026.
Which brings to a close (for now) the Kyle Lowry trade tree. It may not quite be the package you would expect for the greatest player in franchise history, and unless you include the fact that Achiuwa was included in the Quickley and Barrett trade, it didn’t set the Raptors up for the future either. But in a way, it perfectly encapsulates Lowry’s legacy with the Raptors, he was always someone who was more impactful on the court than ever showed up on paper.