It's always been about Toronto.

I love it here.

My family loves it here.

My wife loves it here, which is very important.

Um, my kids are Canadians, and you want to win more for me and yeah, I can continue to address teams wanting me or on all those things, you know, like that.

That's a blessing in life.

And I I don't use it in in those kind off in a way, that's, um, for me.

The blessing is is is being wanted here and finding a place that makes you happy and and finding challenges that really make you grow a za person.

And this place has made me grow as a person.

I identify with this person place, and I and I love it.

And it was So, um, in my mind, um, I'm here.

Honestly, even if I didn't, I always feel confident, you know, like, our organization feels confident.

And we do feel confident that hey, will book wised his own man, you know, like he showed no status.

He came here, and he's a confident human being.

Um, he's an unbelievable person.

He is his own person.

Um, I'm glad we got him for for the year cause when I said this to you guys that we have to be ourselves and we were ourselves the whole year.

I think he saw that.

I think we built a trust and there.

But at the end of the day, the relationship I've developed with Kawai and I know the relationship this organization has has built with Kawai we were respect his decision, know where I do respect that.

I always say that the hardest thing in in this business is trading a player and free agency, and we always have to be ready for both.

But I believe winning a championship him seen who we are, Um, working with his medical staff, combined with our medical staff on getting him and to where he wanted to be.

And he's priority.

When he said in the press conference, he said, Again healthy, you see where he was coming from.

I've had times and times and moments with him and we've talked about this about from last year.

His confidence getting back to this year, Um, for us we continue to be us on.

I know he will continue to be him and I know what we've built here.

I'm confident, and you see how these things go.

Um, I think we have to respect him for, um, for that decision that he had he has to make.

I think our team is in a good place where you we can being that holding part.

And we don't have to, um um react, you know, to anything that's done in any way.

Eso um we'll wait.

He's our He's our player on, and he's a superstar on our team in the league and will continue toe toe weight on that until we know otherwise.

But, um, we will have a meeting with him, and we'll talk from now to then, too.

No, honestly, I'm leaving that to him, and he's his his group.

Um, and, um, whenever they make up their mind, um will be here.

And I know we'll be in touch with them.

We have built a relationship with them Where, um honestly, I text with CO I Last night.

I talked to his uncle this morning.

So it's for us.

It's, um there's that trust, regardless of whatever, wherever it goes on, day will be constant communication.

What you know.

Mm At least you're off 100%.

There's always going to be an option.

He played here last year like that.

That's that's a big time option, you know, like in my opinion, Um, I think, um, but he has to.

He's going to consider that he played here.

I think he had a great experience here.

And, um, he wanted championship here when Santonio I came here.

I've never said this to anybody, but I Something unbelievable happened.

Damar came into our locker room and to show you the classic human being he is.

Hey, came up to me and and he hugged me.

And he asked me how my family was doing arguably the best rock ter, you know, like, ever on when you think of what Kyle has done, I tell you, the the growth off Kyle Lowry, I'm from, um from when I got here to today is remarkable.

And they something about that guy, honestly.

And I'm telling you, if it wasn't that out of traded his But I'm telling you, Yeah, because there's something about him that's all.

Competition, that's all.

A winning.

Yeah.

And honestly, people say, you know, like, um, I know it was a tough period when the Maoists was traded, and I know how both of them really took it hard, and I apologize for that.

And I saw the loyalty.

I I saw, um, who he really was.

And honestly, that's why didn't react, because I know how he is inside him on what he thought basketball wise.

And he just continued to grow and grow and, um, outside of Karl, coming one day or two days here, where he's moody or he doesn't want toe practice or something, or he is never rude or he's never been disrespectful.

He's just not that kind of a person, you know, like you go about his way or he'll go about his business.

And we just went out communicating all the time like we usually have during that period and thus for transparency here, Um, and after we had that conversation, everybody tells me, is a different person, you know, like I think he felt more comfortable.

I think the whole team everybody began to come together in a different way, and the growth to see him have that game in Game six, you know, like you have no idea what it meant to me.

Yeah, you have no idea what it meant to everybody.

Um, to see him, Just lift that.

And he did it throughout the playoffs.

And, um, he lift at this team, he had a sense of calm.

I give co I credit, you know, like for giving us that sense of calm.

That confidence, you know, like to go out there and really believe even when we're down, um, to the Sixers or down to, um, Orlando or down into Milwaukee or even when the momentum was going a different way.

Um, Kyle just remain calm.

Andi.

It's a credit to him as credit to Kawai for bringing that to our team.

A credit to Nick nurse for bringing everybody together because leadership counts there.

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