Don't expect Kyle Lowry to play for the Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets may have acquired veteran guard Kyle Lowry in a deal with the Miami Heat that saw Terry Rozier head to South Beach, but that does not mean that anyone should expect to see Charlotte's newest acquisition take the court any time soon. The expectation is that the Hornets are looking to move Lowry before February 8th's trade deadline in an attempt to acquire more future assets, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"The Hornets will work to move Lowry, 37, onto another team before the deadline, but short of finding a deal for him and his $29.6 million expiring contract, he could eventually become a contract buyout candidate, sources said."

- Adrian Wojnarowski on Kyle Lowry

Working toward trying to find a genuine landing spot for Lowry is the absolute right path for the Hornets. The former Raptors and Heat guard does not align with their competitive timeline, and at 10-31, it does not make much sense to continue rostering the 37-year-old veteran. Lowry is still a productive player and, in the right environment, can be a meaningful contributor for a contending team that is in need of a veteran to raise the roster's talent floor.

Ideally, the Hornets will be able to make another acquisition or two like that of Lowry to flip before the deadline. Charlotte is expected to be one of the few teams capable of taking on additional salary as long as draft compensation comes along with it. The Hornets need to embrace taking on players right now to get more future draft picks and players to then flip again.

Should the Hornets not be able to find a new team for Lowry via trade, there is also the opition of buying him out, a possbility that Wojnarowski also mentioned. While the preference is obviously to trade him for another draft pick or a younger player with upside, having to buy him out of his contract is not the worst thing to happen, considering they have already acquired a future first-round pick from Miami. A buyout would at least show any other veterans they acquire before the deadline that they are looking to do right by them rather than have them rot on a team going nowhere, showing that being sent to Charlotte in a salary dump deal is not the end of the world. In fact, it could be the beginning of an unforseeen competitive stretch that may not have been possible without being sent to Charlotte in the first place.