Kyle Lowry will join the Miami Heat on a three-year, $ 90 million contract as part of a signing-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. While full terms of the deal are not yet available, Wojnarowski announced on Sunday that the Raptors could receive Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa in the deal. Miami had tried to land Lowry on the trade deadline, but couldn’t make a deal with the Raptors. Now, finally, it looks like they’ve landed their leader.

It’s not the only big hit the Heat makes on Monday, however. They are also expected to sign Jimmy Butler for a maximum contract extension that would pay him a total of $ 182 million over five years, according to Athletic’s Shams Charania. Lowry and Butler are close friends, which has apparently given the Heat the edge on a crowded pitch. The Pelicans, Mavericks, Knicks, 76ers and Lakers were all linked with Lowry at some point leading up to free agency, but Butler’s presence and a solid financial offer helped the Heat secure the player they were they had been coveting for months. There he will join Butler and Bam Adebayo as the new trio of Miami superstars.

The Heat haven’t finished yet either. That they were able to make this deal as a sign and exchange is very important for the rest of their offseason. This allowed the Heat to operate above salary, which allowed them to re-sign Duncan Robinson to a five-year, $ 90 million contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. They will also be able to use the mid-level exception for non-taxpayers on another significant free agent addition, provided they are able to keep the rest of the list below the cap of around $ 143 million. dollars.

For Toronto, Lowry’s departure represents the end of an era. He wasn’t as flashy as Vince Carter or as dominant as Kawhi Leonard, but Lowry is the most accomplished player in Raptors history. With him gone, the Raptors will have to re-equip themselves around young players like Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Dragic could serve as an effective playmaker for the Raptors as they try to figure out what’s to come, while Achiuwa is exactly the kind of athletic forward the Raptors have developed well in recent years.

But with Lowry’s demise, all hope of reviving the 2019 Championship squad in one form or another is now lost. The Raptors will look like a new team going forward, while the Heat have firmly reinserted themselves into the Championship table with another major offseason move. With Butler now set to stay in Miami for years to come, the Heat are not going anywhere in a competitive Eastern Conference.