Feb 21, 2024, 7:54 PM ET
Kyle Lowry admitted Wednesday that playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team he grew up rooting for, wasn’t something he dreamed of doing early in his NBA career.
CAMDEN, New Jersey – Despite his lifelong ties to the City of Brotherly Love, Kyle Lowry admitted on Wednesday that playing for the Philadelphia 76ersthe team he grew up rooting for, was not something he dreamed of doing at the beginning of his NBA career.
“It wasn’t a dream,” he said. Kyle Lowry After his first practice as a member of the Sixers. “You never want to play at home because a lot happens. It’s a difficult place to play when you come home.
“But at the end of the day, it’s a dream come true, because I actually get to play in front of my friends, family, and people I cheered for when I was a fan. Sixers I was a child. Now, I’m ready to do it. When you’re younger, you’re not really prepared to do it. But at this point in my career, I’m ready.”
It’s the latest step in a career that began in North Philadelphia at Cardinal Dougherty High School, continued in college at Villanova University and will likely end at the Hall of Fame of professional basketball.
After being traded by the Heat at the deadline, Kyle Lowry will play for the 76ers in the city where he grew up. Photo: Getty
For Kyle Lowry and the 76ersthis is a combination of comfort and convenience. Kyle LowryThe 37-year-old is in his 18th NBA season and was looking for a new home after the Miami Heat sent him to the Charlotte Hornets (along with a first-round pick) in a trade for Terry Rozier last month. . And, due to new NBA rules governing the purchase of players under the new collective bargaining agreement, signing with expensive contenders like the Phoenix Suns or the LA Clippers was not an option even if Kyle Lowry I would like to go there.
Philadelphia offered not only the comforts of home, but also the comforts of long-standing relationships with both president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who selected Kyle Lowry in 2006 in his previous job leading the Houston Rockets, as well as with coach Nick Nurse, who was with him for the better part of a decade with the Toronto Raptors, including the 2019 title-winning team.
“It was good,” Nurse said of having Kyle Lowry on the practice field on Wednesday. “He’s familiar with a lot of the things we do because of our history, so he’s good. Obviously he’s a leader, a vocal leader. I can already see that presence.”
There was a clear need for the services of Kyle Lowry. Los Sixers sent Patrick Beverley before the deadline to create a spot in the rotation, part of a series of moves that saw the 76ers Improve your guard rotation with Kyle Lowry and also Buddy Hield via trade with the Indiana Pacers.
And although Kyle Lowry said he needs time to improve his conditioning after not playing in an NBA game since Jan. 19, he made it clear he will do everything he can to help the 76ers to win in whatever role Coach Nurse asks him to play.
“I’m excited to be here,” he said. Kyle Lowry. “I understand my role and my job. My job is to make sure Tyrese [Maxey] get better and get this team to a point they haven’t been in a long time. And that’s my job.
“My job is to do everything I can to make this team and this organization better. It doesn’t matter what the role is, what the minutes are, what the situation is. My job is to be a professional and help Tyrese get better, help this “The team improves, it helps the coach improve and it helps everyone improve. That’s my job.”
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Philadelphia will have Kyle Lowry on the field for the first time against the New York Knicks Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, and they should also have at least Nicolas Batum (hamstring) and De’Anthony Melton (back) on the court. too, if not both.
For a team that is simply trying to stay afloat while awaiting the eventual return of Joel Embiid coming off knee surgery, Nurse was very happy to have additional reinforcements at his disposal.
“We certainly needed guys to come back,” coach Nurse said. “There were two or three starters, sometimes four starters, that weren’t playing, so we certainly need some of those starters back… We probably added a couple of guys, Buddy’s been a starter his entire career. Kyle Lowry He is capable of being a starter. Kelly [Oubre Jr.] It started a lot for us.
“We’ve been able to change some of that, so we should be able to have a little more depth, a little more solid bench and we’ve certainly grown a lot at the shooting guard position in recent weeks. So that’s good. “I needed to do it. . So I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out… But it looks good. It’s good to have those guys.”
2024-02-22 00:54:00
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