Kyle Lowry’s Miami Heat career could end by trade deadline
MIAMI — The Miami Heat appear to be moving toward an end game with Kyle Lowry in the wake of his shift to a reserve role the past two games.
Resolution with the veteran point guard is not only expected by the Feb. 8 NBA trading deadline, but potentially could come as early as this week.
Where Lowry previously had been viewed as a stabilizing presence, the 37-year-old veteran now stands with his primary value as an expiring $29.7 million salary.
Lowry played 25:13 as the Heat’s third reserve in Sunday night’s 105-87 loss to the Orlando Magic at Kia Center, the Heat’s third consecutive defeat. He closed 1 of 9 from the field, including 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.
Prior to the game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of shifting Lowry to the bench, “That’s not an indictment of one player. Kyle has been great, as a starter and really last year off the bench. So this isn’t really about him. This is about us trying to get to a higher level.”
The door for a switch opened when Lowry was late returning to the Heat on Friday due to weather after being granted permission to travel separately from the team after Wednesday night’s road loss to the Toronto Raptors. With uncertainty of Lowry’s status for what turned into a Friday night loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Caleb Martin was moved into the starting lineup.
That left Lowry as a reserve after starting his first 35 appearances this season. There then were ongoing tensions prior to Sunday’s game, when Spoelstra again decided to keep Lowry with the second unit.
Lowry attempted to put the best face on the situation after the loss in Orlando.
“For me, as a professional, of course I’m disappointed to have to adjust,” said Lowry, who remained on the floor at the close Sunday after Spoelstra pulled his starters. “But I haven’t played well in the last couple of weeks and I understand that. And Coach has made a decision to try to move and shake some things and get a different flow.
“So as a professional, of course it’s an adjustment and I have to make it and figure out how to help the team win.”
Lowry then was asked if he and Spoelstra were on the same page.
Lowry initially said, “I really don’t know how to answer the question.”
He then continued, “Me and Spo, the first 35 games, we’ve always been on the same page. And he just made his adjustment. He’s the head coach, so we have to go with what he says and figure it out.”
Lowry said there has not been a specific discussion of the expectations in the reserve role.
“No, not yet,” he said. “We haven’t had that conversation. I just think he just knows I’m a professional and can come out and do my best at a high level and try to help this team win games.”
Last season, after returning from an extended absence with a knee issue, Lowry closed the season as a reserve to Gabe Vincent. Vincent departed in the offseason to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, with the Heat lacking a true point guard this season beyond Lowry.
“This year it’s only been two games for me,” Lowry said of the reserve role, “so it’s kind of like getting the readjustment, the timing, when I’m going in, all those things and the lineups.”
The Heat now stand at a potential reset point, with a two-day break in their schedule before returning for back-to-back games at Kaseya Center on Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies and Thursday night against the Boston Celtics.
Lowry said he appreciated the primary concern is finding a way to make it work with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, with those three having been available for the same game only 12 times through the season’s first 43 games.
“It’s a funky time of the year for us,” Lowry said. “Coach is very good at what he does, and knows what he’s talking about, so it’s about kind of everyone just understanding this time of the year it will get tough. And we’ve got our three guys, I don’t know how many games they played now together, but we’ve got to get those three guys on the same page and get them going.”
Herro struggled with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting in Orlando, while Butler was limited to 15 points. Adebayo closed with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
“We haven’t had a full slate of players for a while, and a lot of lineups and adjustments,” Lowry said, with rookie wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. having missed the past four games with a groin strain. “So it’s one of those things where we just are finally getting back and we got to try to find rhythm. And once we get a rhythm and groove, we’ll be all right.”
