2. Kyle Lowry | 3-years, $90 million
A journey-man turned six-time All-Star, Kyle Lowry was brought in with the hope that he could be the final piece Miami would need to secure another championship. In a sign-and-trade, the Miami Heat dealt Goran Dragić and Precious Achiuwa for the former Raptor and his new 3-year, $85 million contract.
Unfortunately, that plan has been nothing short of a failure so far, as Lowry has averaged just 12.7 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.4 rebounds with the Heat. Part of the issue is his availability, as Lowry has played in just over 71% of games since coming to Miami, but it’s deeper than that.
Kyle Lowry simply isn’t the player he was with the Toronto Raptors, nor is he the player the Heat thought they were getting when they gave him that sizeable deal. The situation with Lowry only appears to be worsening as his season has been a constant decline.
In November, Lowry averaged 15.6 points with 6.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds over 15 games. In December, those numbers dipped to 11.9, 5.2, and 4.2 in 10 games. The new year did not bring change for the better either, as Lowry averaged just 7.7 points along with 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Now, since Feb. 2, Lowry has played in just three games due to left knee soreness. The good news is that in those three games, Lowry’s shooting percentages have at least rebounded (55.6/53.8/66.7) though it’s on low volume.
It’s still possible for Lowry to flip the script on his time in Miami, but there’s no sugar-coating it; he’s facing an extremely uphill battle.