After announcing his plans to opt out of his contract with the Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry will officially be on the market this offseason. Lowry will likely be joined by a bevy of other star players including Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Chris Paul.

With Lowry’s announcement came a host of rumors as to where he might be headed. Apparently, the Philadelphia 76ers are high on Lowry’s list.

Why would Lowry head to Philadelphia?

For those that don’t know, Kyle Lowry is actually from Philadelphia. Lowry attended Cardinal Dougherty high school in Philadelphia and then played his college ball at Villanova University, which isn’t too far from Philadelphia.

Although the Sixers are currently in a rebuilding phase, Lowry may want to go there to help them out of that phase. Plus, there’s no place like home.

Lowry may not be a perfect fit for the Sixers

This past season, the Sixers trotted out T.J. McConnell as their starting point guard for 51 of their 82 games. Lowry would surely be a massive upgrade over the lowly McConnell. The problem lies within Ben Simmons, however.

Last offseason, the Sixers were awarded the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft with which they took Ben Simmons, the freshmen sensation out of LSU. During Simmons time at LSU, he showed excellent ball-handling ability and court vision -- two traits most point guards possess. He also showed this during 2016 NBA Summer League play prior to suffering a season-ending injury.

In addition to his proven point guard capabilities, Sixers Coach Brett Brown has alluded to Simmons playing point guard full time once he returns from injury. If the Sixers brought on Lowry, would they then have a logjam at the point guard position?

How much would Lowry cost?

This past season, Kyle Lowry made just around $12 million.

Sixers fans may want to close their eyes for this once. If the Sixers do decide to give Kyle Lowry a max contract, it’ll cost them about $152 million over the next four years.

According to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Lowry can receive a max deal for four years (five with Toronto) with five percent raises each year.

That’s a lot of money to invest in an aging point guard -- Lowry is 31-years-old -- who has struggled with injuries recently.

The likelihood of the Sixers acquiring Lowry

According to Raptors Republic reporter Blake Murphy, Lowry has just one priority this offseason: Putting himself in the best position to win the NBA Finals.

With Lowry’s insistence that a ring is his only priority this offseason, it appears unlikely that he’ll end up in Philadelphia. But in sports, you just never know.
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