Examining a potential Detroit Pistons trade for Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry’s experience

Lowry’s game changed several times under Casey but he’s better for it, showcasing the ability to make plays with the ball in his hands and play off the ball to maximize his scoring opportunities. Both could benefit the Pistons offensively, making him a multiple threat while Jackson currently is best off the ball.

Lowry was 26 when he joined Casey in the second year of his Toronto tenure and has developed into a five-time All-Star, all coming in the last five seasons. It started by becoming a better playmaker for his teammates and, with improve ball-handling, developed into becoming a better scorer.

From 2012-14, his assist rate spiked from a previous-best of 32.3 percent to an immediate 34.6 percent over those next two seasons. His turnover rate improved dramatically in each of those three seasons, dropping from 17.7 percent to 12.8 percent.

Playing alongside a second star, whether it’s DeMar DeRozan under Casey or Leonard under Nick Nurse last season, Lowry’s usage rate has never climbed higher than 26.1 percent, which occurred in 2015-16. He’s comfortable playing off the ball or playing with the ball in his hands.

His most efficient shooting seasons came from 2015-18, his last three years under Casey. The 2016-17 season was remarkable, setting scoring career highs with 22.4 points per game, a 62.3 true shooting percentage, 46.4 field goal percentage and 41.2 3-point percentage. That all comes while taking 280 fewer shots than the previous season.

One area where Casey capitalized on improving Lowry’s scoring was encouraging him to take more 3-point shots. In his first six NBA seasons, Lowry took 936 3-point shots but under Casey he averaged 464 such shots in those six seasons. That includes a bump up to 596 in their final year together in 2017-18.

With Casey implementing his shot spectrum, Lowry benefitted by becoming a more efficient shooter with his shot selection. He’s converted 37.8 percent of 3-point attempts in Toronto so, yes, he’s been a good shooter but taking more 3-pointers has and attempts within three feet of the rim has caused the spike in effective shooting percentage. It’s also allowed him to score a similar number of points per game despite taking fewer shots.

Improving on Jackson

Replacing Jackson with Lowry would upgrade the offense and give a more reliable shooter and playmaker to ease the load on Blake Griffin. While Jackson has made strides in becoming more efficient off the ball, he’s taken a step back with the ball in his hands. That’s where upgrading to Lowry is worth the salary.

Jackson only converted 58.3 percent of attempts from within three feet last season. Meanwhile Lowry has converted at 60.2 percent, or better, since 2014, which includes an average of 65 percent in the last two seasons. That makes Lowry a greater asset in the pick-and-roll game with Andre Drummond or Griffin.

While Jackson is coming off a career-best 36.9 percent shooting percentage from 3-point range, Lowry has averaged 36.7 percent, albeit inconsistent year-over-year, in seven seasons with the Raptors.

Now that Lowry’s fit has been examined, let’s take a look at a potential trade and the timing of a possible deal.