NBA Buzz: Lowry, Zion, Porter, Fox, Mobley

Originally posted on FortyEightMinutes | By Sameer Kumar | Last updated 11/23/21

Kyle Lowry chose to sign with the Heat after a great run with the Raptors, as he felt he could “move the needle” for Miami to bring home a championship.

“This is my first year here, but it was the situation where I feel like they wanted to move the needle,” Lowry told Marc Spears of The Undefeated. “They wanted to find a way to move the needle and no matter what my age is, I’m still able to move the needle. I’m still playing at a high level. My job is to make everybody else better, to make our team better.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Lowry to leave Toronto, but he had his future in mind when making the decision, which included what he felt was best for his family.

“It was very bittersweet because I never wanted to leave (the Raptors),” Lowry said. “But it was more a sense of: ‘All right, my kids are getting older. I want to be somewhere where they can be stable no matter what.’ And, yeah, everybody says you could just live in Canada, but you’d have to get a Canadian citizenship to live there. And I don’t think I would’ve lived there for the rest of my life.”

More NBA Rumors

The Pelicans kept Zion Williamson’s surgery for his broken foot quiet until Media Day out of respect for his “preference for privacy,” Brian Windhorst and Andrew Lopez of ESPN relay. While this could improve relations between the Pelicans and their franchise player, it could negatively impact their credibility with their fanbase.
Michael Porter Jr. could be out for season due to a nerve issue in his back which could require surgery, according to The Denver Post’s Mike Singer. Porter Jr. has already missed a lot of time in his career with back problems, including most of his college career at Missouri and his entire rookie season.
De’Aaron Fox was shocked to hear that Luke Walton was fired as their head coach, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings fired Walton after losing seven of their last eight games.
The Cavaliers may be cautious with Evan Mobley as the big man looks to get back on the court. Mobley suffered a sprained elbow last week and is making progress, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. The rookie’s initial timeframe was expected to be 2-to-4 weeks.