TORONTO - As rumours surrounding the future of Kyle Lowry - this summers biggest free-agent prize at his position - begin to swirl, the most reasonable question that comes to mind is, what took so long? The Raptors breakout point guard has been the subject of recent speculation, originating at ESPN, connecting him to the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. Ola Aina Jersey . The parties are said to have "mutual interest". Often, where theres smoke theres fire, but thats not always the case in the NBA, especially not at this time of the year. Smoke, in this case, comes with the territory. Fresh off a career season, leading the Raptors to an unexpected division title, Lowry is poised to become a coveted commodity in unrestricted free agency when he officially hits the open market on July 1. If the Heat are the first team to come knocking, they assuredly wont be the last. Why wouldnt Miami be interested in Lowrys services? The Heat are less than a week removed from a disheartening trip to the NBA Finals, where they looked vastly inferior to the San Antonio Spurs in a five-game elimination. Their current point guard, Mario Chalmers - also a soon-to-be free agent - was notably ineffective en route to losing his starting job late in the series. And Lowry? Why wouldnt he want to play in South Beach? Under the right circumstances, accompanied by a suitable contract, you would be hard-pressed to find someone unwilling to play in one of the leagues most desirable destinations with LeBron James, the best basketball player on the planet. Therein lies the caveat, and its a big one; money. The Heat, under their current construction, can only offer so much of it. Firstly, in order for Miami to put together a passable offer to Lowry or any other prominent free agent, James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would need to opt out of their contracts - owing them each more than $20 million over the next two season - to renegotiate smaller deals. Udonis Haslem would likely have to do the same. Lowry, underpaid for most of his eight-year career, has been one of the leagues bargain players, earning just over $6 million last season. At best, Miami - or any other capped out team - may be able to offer something in that neighbourhood. From a Raptors perspective, nothing has changed since Masai Ujiri addressed the point guards future six weeks ago, making Lowry the teams top offseason priority. "Its very important for us, in terms of continuity," said the Raptors general manager that afternoon, asked about the likelihood of re-signing Lowry. "For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here." "I think well be fair with Kyle and well figure it out and I think its important. So well go through that process but were optimistic stuff will happen." They remain confident to this day and much of that stems from the fact that they can offer Lowry more than any other team, while also providing him the platform to lead a winning team with a cast that hes comfortable with. The 28-year-old is staring down his first super-sized NBA contract and in a league where so much can change in three-to-four years, there are no guarantees that another one will follow. Certainly, if hes willing to sacrifice in exchange for a better chance at competing for a championship hell have that opportunity but for a player entering his prime, one with a young family to support, it would be surprising to see him leave that much money on the table. With the Raptors he could double the size of his most recent contract, a four-year $23 million deal signed back in 2010. As you might expect, Lowry and his representatives will test the market, see whats out there and leverage the interest hes sure to get from other teams. As he wisely pointed out during a midseason wave of rumours following the trade of his best friend Rudy Gay, its a business. The Raptors will also have a big decision to make, holding the 20th pick in next weeks draft, five days before teams are able to sit down and meet with their free agent point guard. Would they select a lead guard as insurance? "I think the biggest thing is to not make draft decisions based on that, on your current roster and your current situations," Dan Tolzman, the Raptors director of scouting, said last week. "You keep it in the back of your head and youll take it into account when youre drafting players but if the most talented guy or the highest guy on your list happens to be a position that your loaded up with you can work stuff out later." "So I dont think you really approach the draft like, okay we need a point guard because we dont know what the situation is. But at the same time if the best player on the board is a point guard, well figure it out." And so it begins. For four months, primarily in the next two, the game shifts from the court to the boardroom, podium and social media sphere. The sound of sneakers squeaking and whistles whistling are replaced by rumours, bravado and conjecture. Buckle up. Jorginho Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. Gary Cahill Jersey .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Ross-Barkley-Jersey/ .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera has decided to test free agency.For the third straight year, baseballs free agents shunned qualifying offers from their former teams and chose to test the market.Cabrera was one of 12 players that decided not to accept a US$15.3 million offer by Mondays 5 p.m. EST deadline.World Series star Pablo Sandoval (San Francisco) also let the deadline pass, as did pitcher Max Scherzer and first baseman-designated hitter Victor Martinez (Detroit), and left-hander Francisco Liriano and Canadian catcher Russell Martin (Pittsburgh).The others were shortstop Hanley Ramirez (Los Angeles Dodgers), outfielder Nelson Cruz (Baltimore), right-hander James Shields (Kansas City), closer David Robertson (New York Yankees), and pitcher Ervin Santana (Atlanta).One of the dozen, Colorado outfielder Michael Cuddyer, became the first major free agent to switch teams when he agreed to a US$21 million, two-year contract with the New York Mets.Cabrera originally signed a two-year, US$16 million contract with Toronto in 2012 after serving a 50-game suspension for PED use while a member of the San Francisco Giants.Last season he batted .301 with 16 home runs and 73 RBIs in 139 games before a broken finger ended his year in early September.In 10 big-leaggue seasons, the 30-year-old has suited up for five teams, including the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Giants and Blue Jays. Danny Drinkwater Jersey. In the three offseasons of the current collective bargaining agreement, none of the 34 qualifying offers have been accepted.Players offered the qualifying offer carefully considered their options and decided to pursue further free agency rather than accept a $15.3 million contract in a market that should be robust given the economic health of the game, union head Tony Clark said in an email. I expect free agent compensation will be an important part of bargaining in 2016, as it has been over our entire history.An offer could be made only to a free agent who was with the team for the entire season. The price was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year by average annual value.If a team made a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.The club signing that player loses its first-round pick in the amateur draft, unless that pick is among the top 10, in which case the club signing that player loses its next-highest pick. Cheap Hockey Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Hockey Stars Jerseys Cheap Hockey Wild Jerseys Cheap Hockey Predators Jerseys Cheap Hockey Blues Jerseys Cheap Hockey Jets Jerseys Cheap Hockey Ducks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Hockey Flames Jerseys Cheap Hockey Oilers Jerseys Cheap Hockey Kings Jerseys Cheap Hockey Sharks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Canucks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Golden Knights Jerseys Hockey Team Canada Jerseys ' ' '