Cleveland Cavaliers sign Houston Rockets free agent guard Kyle Lowry; Lowry worth every penny of offer

“The offer is for three years with a fourth-year team option that could make the contract worth up to $24 million.”  The Houston Rockets have seven days to match.

Update: Rockets match offer.

I’m floored.  While Lowry is certainly deserving of such a sum, I did not think his true value would be identified.  Ah, the ultimate efficiency of markets…

In my opinion, at a little under $6million (due to the 4th year option), it’s a no-brainer to match and I do expect the Rockets to do just that.  Long-time readers are aware of how high this publication has been on Lowry – I called him the team’s most impactful player last season.

Lowry was second on the team in Roland Rating at +2.5, and was a component of the team’s most efficient 5-man offensive unit.

While his impact on the Rockets is patently obvious, not enough has been made of just how favorably his production compares with his league-wide peers.

Lowry is 5th in the league among all point guards in FTA’s per-40 minutes.

He’s 2nd among all point guards in total rebounding rate per-40 minutes and 1st among all point guards in offensive rebounding rate per-40 minutes.

Lowry is 1st among all pg’s in charges drawn per-40 minutes.

He’s 1st among all pg’s in And1% (the percentage of a player’s field goal attempts resulting in an And-1) per-40 minutes and 1st among all pg’s in FTA/FGA (ratio of free throw attempts to field goal attempts) per-40 minutes.

Lowry is 11th in the league among all point guards in overall assists per-40 minutes and 12th in assists at the rim per-40 minutes.

He is 16th among all point guards in assist/turnover ratio per-40 minutes ahead of such notable figures as Jammer Nelson, Russell Westbrook, Brandon Jennings, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Devin Harris, Rodney Stuckey, Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans, and Stephen Curry.  Aaron Brooks is nowhere to be found among the leaders.

Finally, Kyle Lowry is 16th among all point guards in APER per-40 minutes. (APER is PER adjusted for assisted and unassisted field goals.)

Frankly speaking, Kyle Lowry produces at starter-level rates and is even elite in some areas.

What will come of interest is how this event impacts the decision on Aaron Brooks.  Likely to command an even heftier offer than Lowry’s next summer, the club could look to “sell high” on his usage-inflated production during the season.  That Lowry stands as such a capable replacement might make the decision easier.  I don’t see the club investing upwards of $13million annually into its point guard slot, especially if Brooks’ value can be parlayed elsewhere for an upgrade.

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