TORONTO - It didnt take long for the Raptors to address their top priority of the summer. Ruud Gullit Netherland Jersey . Less than 48 hours after the July 1 free agency window opened, the Raptors reached an agreement with their star point guard Kyle Lowry, bringing him back to Toronto for four more years at a reported $48 million, according to several outlets and confirmed by Lowry himself over Twitter. "Toronto will be my home city," the 28-year-old tweeted Wednesday evening, along with a picture of himself decked out in retro Raptors gear. The deal has an early termination option in the final year, allowing Lowry to become an unrestricted free agent after the third season if he chooses. Although the contract has been agreed to in principle, it cant be signed or made official until the NBAs moratorium period is lifted on July 10. Lowry spent the day mulling over Torontos offer and weighing his options with his family and agent after meeting with Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri and head coach Dwane Casey Tuesday afternoon in his hometown of Philadelphia. The Raptors point guard was visited by members of the Rockets front office, also receiving interest from the Heat and Mavericks. Ultimately, he opted to return to the team he helped lead to a division title, at a significant pay raise from what he was making when he enjoyed a career season in 2013-14. Earning $6.2 million last year, Lowry registered career-highs of 17.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds while narrowly missing out on what would have been his first all-star selection during a breakout campaign with the Raptors. Entering his prime, the eight-year vet will be the eighth highest paid point guard in the league next season after finishing third in Win Shares among players at his position last year. His new contract will be more than twice the size of his previous one, a four-year, $23.5 million deal signed in 2010. Lowry has earned a total of $28.8 million over the first eight years of his career. Although a deserved raise played a role in his decision to re-sign - the Raptors had the advantage of being able to pay him more than any other team - Lowry became entrenched as a leader with the team both on the court and in the locker room, endearing himself to the city with his hard play. "At the end of the day its still a business and you have to be a businessman for the situation that youre in," he had said the afternoon after his team was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. "But I am very happy. This has been one of the best seasons Ive had, through and through. Best coaches, teammates, [front office]. Its been great. I am happy. Without a doubt I can say Im happy." "I love this place," he continued. "I love the situation. Its simple as that." For that very reason his return was hardly in doubt, though Raptors fans are generally conditioned to hope for the best and fear for the worst. The Raptors front office, coaching staff and even Lowrys teammates remained confident a deal would get done throughout the process but he did have other viable options to consider, given his desire to compete for a championship and his status as this summers most coveted point guard. Bringing him back, amid the long-time perception that players dont want to be in Toronto, is a major coup for a Raptors franchise that is determined to change their culture under the leadership of Ujiri and MLSE boss Tim Leiweke. The Raptors acquired Lowry in a trade from Houston during the summer of 2012 after he fell out of favour with Rockets coach Kevin McHale. Despite a turbulent first season in Toronto, one that saw him battle injury and feud with Coach Casey, Lowry came to training camp in the best shape of his playing career and took his game to a new level after a pre-season meeting with Ujiri sparked his competitive nature. With the Raptors contemplating a rebuild following the December trade of Rudy Gay, Lowrys best friend, Ujiri nearly moved the point guard in a deal that would have sent him to New York. Fuelled by Lowrys breakout, the resurgent Raptors continued to win and Ujiri slowly became a believer. Last season, Ujiris first at the helm of the Raptors, was always supposed to be a "show me" year for Lowry. Ujiri had always promised to be fair to Lowry and maintained he would be given the platform to sink or swim. Like any other investment, Lowry is a calculated risk but the Raptors are betting the 2013-14 version will be more of the norm than an anomaly going forward. Prioritizing continuity this offseason, Ujiri can now shift his focus to re-signing restricted free agents Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez, both of whom should attract varying degrees of interest on the open market. If retained, the Raptors wont have much more than their mid-level exception to spend and could flirt with the luxury tax this coming season. Jordy Clasie Netherland Jersey .C. - Bernhard Langer overcame a bad start Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tours Greater Hickory Classic. Daryl Janmaat Netherland Jersey . </br></br> Apparently this took place at a soccer stadium for a club match in Brazil.LONDON -- Andy Murray won his first match since adding Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach, beating Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Queens Club grass-court tournament on Wednesday. "I was looking forward to getting back on the court," Murray said. "I enjoy playing here. I love being back on the grass. "I thought I was quite disciplined with my movement today. I moved pretty well. I wasnt sliding about too much. Yeah, it was a good start." Top seed and Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka also advanced into the third round when Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus retired with a right shoulder injury as the Swiss led 3-2. There was victory too for 2011 finalist and fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who weathered a close first set before overwhelming Belgiums David Goffin 7-6 (5), 6-2. Since his loss to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final, Murray has won 19 consecutive matches on grass and captured three titles, including the 2012 London Olympic gold at the All England Club, and Wimbledon and Queens last year. Murray hired former top-ranked player and two-time major winner Mauresmo as his coach on Sunday, initially for the grass-court season. He has been without a coach since he parted ways with Ivan Lendl in March. Hiring a female coach has generated a great deal of attention, and although he previously worked with his mother, Judy, for a long period, he admits that such a move at his level of the game was unusual. "At first when I thought about it, it was obviously a consideration, because for a few years I havent worked with a woman," he said. "Now the decision has been made, its not something that Im thinking about. Its more about the qualities that she can bring that will help me and my tennis and my team as well. I hope it works out long term because I like her. Shes a good person. I hope it works out well." Murray was impressed with Mauresmo when they met, and saw the qualities she could bring. "t;After I spoke to her the first time I just really liked her. Jordy Clasie Jersey. She was calm. She asked a lot of questions. She listened. She listened a lot. I liked chatting to her, so then I decided to sit down and speak to her and had a good chat with her about tennis. "This week, theres not going to be any big changes in my game. I also wouldnt expect any before Wimbledon. But well definitely work on some things after the tournament is finished here." Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver lost 6-4, 6-4 to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine while Torontos Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia defeated Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (4), 7-5. Pospisil also lost in mens doubles. Ernests Gulbis, who reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open last week, fell to Kenny De Schepper of France 7-6 (3), 7-5. "I like the grass," Gulbis, the sixth seed from Latvia said. "But I never played well the first tournament. I always played decent in Wimbledon if I practiced well. So now Im going to stay here, practice two weeks on grass. Im going to be fully fine for Wimbledon." Lleyton Hewitt remains one victory short of Roger Federers record of 122 match wins on grass after being beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Feliciano Lopez. Hewitt, a four-time champion at Queens, was broken once in each set and failed to earn a single break point against the Spaniard. Its the first time the Australian has lost to Lopez in five meetings. Hewitt had been bidding to become the first player to win Queens five times. He shares the record of four titles with Andy Roddick. "I played a bit of a loose game the second game of the match," he said. "Then, yeah, he served really well the whole match. He had a lot better rhythm today than he did yesterday in his first-round match. He hit his spots really well." Dmitry Tursunov of Russia and Nicolas Mahut of France were beaten, but there were wins for eighth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine and Radek Stepanek. ' ' '
