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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. 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. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. Replica NCAA Jerseys . The 2010 batting champ showed what he can do when hes mostly healthy. Gonzalez homered, doubled and singled in his return to the lineup, and the Colorado Rockies snapped a five-game losing streak with a 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. NCAA Jerseys Outlet . - Ryan Spooner scored twice to lead the Boston Bruins to a 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders in a preseason game Friday night. Cheap Football NCAA Jerseys . Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss.INDIANAPOLIS -- James Hinchcliffe will have to wait a little bit longer before he can return to the track. The Oakville, Ont., driver was evaluated Tuesday and IndyCars medical team has yet to clear Hinchcliffe to begin Indianapolis 500 practice. He was progressing well and is now cleared to begin light training with a another evaluation set for Thursday. The 27-year old driver was diagnosed with a concussion Saturday when he was hit in the head by debris in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He was taken on a stretcher to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical centre and was later transported to a hospital. Hinchcliffe hasnt been made available to the media since. "Pretty much the doctors said he should be a little bit disconnected," E.J. Viso said. "Just pretty much trying to stay in his room and rest." Filling in for Hinchcliffe for the third consecutive day, Viso shot straight to the top of the speed chart on the third day of practice. He reached 224.488 mph within the first 20 minutes of the start of practice. Kurt Busch was second fastest at 224.159 and Colombias Juan Pablo Montoya was third at 224.115. Just before a yellow flag for rain, Montoya pulled off the track and required a tow. The rookie reported an electrical problem with the car. "Thats why I stopped in the grass," Montoya said. "We ran a lot of laps yesterday in preparation for it, so its nothing major and it gives the guys time to catch up on the car." Meanwhile, Viso is spending each practice session with the intent to qualify and even race Hinchcliffes No. 27 car in this years Indy 500. That kind of focus, Viso believes, will have him best prepared should have be called on for the May 25 race. "I just put myself into the drivers role," he said. "I believe that its the best scenario that I could put myself in right now is with that mindset." Theres still a chance that Hinchcliffe could return in time for IndyCars signnature race.dddddddddddd Nothing has been offered to the Venezuelan, but if thats the case, Viso hasnt ruled out stepping into another car to race in the Indy 500. "If its a competitive ride, I will of course take it," he said. "Trust me, theres nothing worse than being lapped every two laps, so for that I truly dont know if its worth it. Its not like Im dying to do it, but Im dying to do well and to have a chance to win." Four other things to know from Tuesdays practice session: FAST HONDA: Honda engines recorded some of the top speeds, with seven of the top 10 fastest cars. The three fastest Chevy cars on Tuesday were Montoya, Scott Dixon (223.235), and rookie Sage Karam (222.635). PRACTICE CANCELLED: Teams wasted no time getting on the track for practice. Twenty-six cars made their way to the pits within the first 20 minutes of the start of practice before rain and thunderstorms ended track activity early. Teams have been pressed for time after a quick turnaround from Saturdays race. Rain is in the forecast for the remainder of the week. OPPORTUNITY TO RELAX: Josef Newgarden had no problem with Tuesdays practice being called early. The inclement weather that cut practice short gave the 23-year old and his crew a chance to relax after a busy stretch. By the third day of practice, Newgarden said many teams have made the full transformation of going from road course to oval racing in a short amount of time. "Most people by now are pretty sorted," Newgarden said. "Theres not a lot to do. Theres not big items you have to take off the list. Its all little things that youre looking for now." FIRST PRACTICE: Sebastian Saavedra returned to practice for the first time since wrecking at the start of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The pole-sitter for Saturdays race was clipped by Carlos Munoz before he was hit from behind by Mikhail Aleshin. Saavedra completed just seven laps and reached 208.985 mph on Tuesday. ' ' '