NBA Rumors: Sixers Believe It's a 'Longshot' They Land Kyle Lowry

The Philadelphia 76ers were a part of the James Harden sweepstakes a couple of months ago and remained in the conversation of trading for him all the way down to the wire. Ultimately, the Sixers lost out as the Houston Rockets sent Harden packing to the Brooklyn Nets in a multi-team trade.

Now, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is working on landing another notable star in Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. Since the Raptors began struggling at the beginning of the 2020-2021 NBA season, Lowry was getting thrown in the mix of trade rumors.

Being that he's 34-years-old and on a contract year, many assumed the Raptors would sell Lowry before the trade deadline to start working on the future of their franchise. Then, Toronto teased signs of making a comeback after a lousy start.

However, the emergence didn't last long. At this point, the Raptors are struggling again, and it seems there's a good chance Lowry could be on his way out officially. With the trade deadline coming up on Thursday, the Sixers have consistently led the pursuit for landing Lowry alongside the Miami Heat.

But according to a recent report from Bleacher Report's Jason Dumas, the Sixers believe it might be a longshot to land the North Philly native.

Source: Kyle Lowry wants an extension or a new deal on the table before he gets traded. Toronto is letting him navigate the situation. He will have some say so on where he lands if he’s moved. The Sixers believe acquiring him is a long shot.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) March 24, 2021

As we know now, Lowry wants some sort of verbal agreement on an eventual extension to sign with the Raptors or his next team this summer. Despite his age, Lowry will not come cheap and will reportedly seek a two-year extension moving forward.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday night that the 76ers had shown some restraint in how far they'll go to get a deal done for Lowry. Perhaps, the tricky contract situation has something to do with that.

The NBA trade deadline is at 3 PM EST. on Thursday, March 25.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.