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. Authentic NFL Jerseys . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. Stitched NFL Jerseys . Mesoraco hurt his hamstring while scoring from second in Friday nights 5-4 loss at Atlanta. Chapman was hit by a line drive during an exhibition game on March 19, breaking his nose and a bone above his left eye. The left-hander looked strong while throwing 43 pitches in batting practice before Saturday nights game against the Braves. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinateam.com/. -- After a year spent travelling the world, Brooks Koepka suddenly is in a position to play a lot more golf at home. China NFL Jerseys .com) - Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has been selected as the NHLs Rookie of the Month for December, the league announced Friday. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . No surprise there. Kershaw, who also earned the title after throwing his first career no-hitter in June, had a 1.MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - Soccer-crazy Uruguayans raged Thursday at FIFAs decision to kick their star player out of the World Cup for his third biting incident, fearing it could deal a death blow to their bid to win the sports greatest tournament. Uruguays soccer federation said it planned to appeal the ban, which prohibits striker Luis Suarez from all soccer activities for four months. The ban also covers Uruguays next nine international games, which rules him out of next years Copa America. It will likely carry over to qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup. Uruguayans of all stripes were nearly unanimous in their support of Suarez, calling the punishment excessive for what they felt was an act of immaturity. "It feels like Uruguay has been thrown out of the World Cup," Uruguayan soccer federation president Wilmar Valdez said in Rio. Diego Suarez, the strikers youngest brother who is also a soccer player, called the sanction an "unbelievable" decision that has saddened him. Juan Jose Monzillo, a fruit and vegetable vendor in Uruguays capital of Montevideo, saw conspiracy behind the decision by soccers governing body. "They clearly wanted to kick Suarez out of the World Cup. Uruguay is a small country that eliminated two big nations like Italy and England and it doesnt benefit FIFA to let Uruguay continue playing," said Monzillo, 48, who listened to the news about Suarez on headphones as he tended his stand. A crowd of fans, including President Jose Mujica at one point, gathered at Montevideos international airport Thursday night expecting Suarez to fly home. But the Uruguayan Football Federation later announced that Suarez was still in Brazil, adding that he thanked the fans but giving no explanation for why he had not left for home. Suarez bit the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguays 1-0 win in the group stage on Tuesday, but escaped unpunished in the game itself as the referee did not see the incident. "Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on aany football pitch and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup, when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee, said in a statement.dddddddddddd But Uruguayans did not buy the explanation. "The immorality and hypocrisy of FIFA has no limits. Neither does Chiellinis inclination for being a tattle-tale and a fink!" Luis Puig, a lawmaker for Uruguays ruling Broad Front coalition said on his Twitter account. This is the third time Suarez has been banned for biting an opponent, following similar incidents with Ajax in the Dutch league and Liverpool. He was given a 10-match ban by the Premier League for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013. Besides the biting incidents, Suarez has been vilified for racially abusing an opposing player and for a handball on the goal-line during an earlier World Cup quarterfinal. He also has been accused of having a penchant for diving. But Suarez also stuns fans with moments of brilliance on the field, leaving some to compare him to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Uruguayan striker for Liverpool was last seasons player of the year in Englands Premier League. Valdez, the head of Uruguays soccer federation, said that it was Suarez who was targeted for aggression by the Italians. "When he falls, several substitutes insult him on the ground and some members of Italys staff even came off the bench to try to hit him," Valdez said, suggesting FIFA should investigate Italy. Any appeal by Uruguay must first go to the FIFA appeal committee, said FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer. If rejected, Suarez and Uruguay could take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. "We should withdraw from the World Cup, because what they have done is so lamentable. But at least we can go forward with dignity," said former soccer player Robert Lima, who won several Uruguayan championship with the club Penarol. ' ' '