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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. Fake Air Max 95 . 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. Cheap Jordans From China . Dane Dobbie had four goals and two assists, Karsen Leung had two goals and two assists, and Matthew Dinsdale scored two and helped on another for Calgary (6-3). Shawn Evans and Jeff Shattler had eight-point games with a goal and seven assists apiece, and Jon Harnett and Geoff Snider also scored. Discount Under Armour Shoes . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/ . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway.ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – All things considered, an MRIs diagnosis of what the Blue Jays are calling "mild inflammation" of Jose Reyes left hamstring is the best result for which the player and club could have hoped. "It is a relief. Thats good news," said Reyes. "Just showed some inflammation there, no damage at all. Just need some rest, should be fine and back to play." If Reyes misses only the next 15 days, the minimum required length of his disabled list stint, the Blue Jays dodge a bullet and in more than one way. Reyes comes back at the soonest possible time and the club isnt left to wonder if it was a foolish idea to bring its star shortstop to Montreal. "We wouldnt have put him out there if we didnt feel confident," said manager John Gibbons. "He had a few days off, figured it was a minor thing, gotta test it sooner or later, right? He came out of the game feeling good. He even tested it on the back field before he left, so yeah. Its one of those things that happen." "We did some tests, I passed those tests," Reyes said in defence of the decision to play at Olympic Stadium. "I was able to play through it like that. I played through it those two games there. I dont want to say I feel great, but I feel okay to play and then I come here (Monday,) feel better than I did in Montreal and you see what happened. Hamstrings are tricky, man." Reyes is eligible to return from the disabled list on April 16, when the Jays are scheduled to conclude a three-game series in Minneapolis, the sixth game of a nine-game trip to visit the Orioles, Twins and Indians. The 30-year-old admits to frustration, wanting nothing more than to play a full season healthy after a severely sprained left ankle cost him 66 games last year, Reyes first as a Blue Jay. Playing on Astroturf is a challenge on players bodies, the Blue Jays will on 91 occasions out of 162 games, but Reyes says he cant worry about it. Hes powerless to change his home stadiums surface. "The turf is going to be there, thats ourr home so I have to deal with it," said Reyes. Fake Air Max 270. "Find a routine so I can stay on the field and play for this team." Jonathan Diaz, a 12th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2006 who returned to the franchise in the offseason, will take Reyes roster spot for the time being. Generously listed at 59", Diaz isnt in town to replace Reyes. Hed best be described as an all-glove, no-bat player. When he plays, hell hit at the bottom of the order. Others were considered for the call up, like cult-hero Munenori Kawasaki and second baseman Chris Getz, but general manager Alex Anthopoulos and Gibbons are prioritizing defence and dont believe they lose much with a Diaz-Ryan Goins middle infield. "Hes the best shortstop we got out there," said Gibbons. "Hes really good out there." Diaz gets first Big League hit It was a long time coming for Jonathan Diaz. His fourth inning, two-out single was the first hit of his major league career. He also got his first career RBI on the play. The single scored Brett Lawrie, widening the Blue Jays lead to 4-0 over the Rays at the time. Santos at home in closers role Its easy to forget the Blue Jays acquired Sergio Santos before the 2012 season to be their closer. Santos has spent two injury-plagued seasons with Toronto and watched as Casey Janssen took to the closers role. Now, with Janssen on the disabled list nursing an abdominal strain, Santos has the opportunity to remind everyone hes up to the job. "Any time an opportunity is presented to you, you want to make the most of it," said Santos. "Thats all I want to do. I want to come in, you know if I get a couple of opportunities at that ninth inning role, come in, throw strikes and get the job done. Hopefully, I can build off of that and who knows what can happen?" Santos had a career-high 30 saves for the White Sox in 2011. He has only three saves in a Blue Jays uniform and has recorded the last out of a ballgame only ten times during his tenure in Toronto. ' ' '