Who will win the Kyle Lowry free agency sweepstakes?

Kyle Lowry has become the latest hot name whose future is being debated on after his Raptors were swept by the Cavaliers in Eastern Conference Semifinals. Lowry announced that he “wants a ring” and will be opting out of his contract this summer.

Whether that ring comes in Toronto — which it likely won’t as long as the Raptors don’t have LeBron James on the roster — then Lowry will likely start looking elsewhere to ply his services. This year’s free agent class is jam-packed with names that could help break up the Cavaliers-Warriors axis. Among point guards, Lowry’s name stands out — as well as Chris Paul and George Hill — when it comes to those who could move on to another team with a real chance to make it to the NBA Finals.

Until free agency opens July 1, however, allow me to wildly speculate on a few of Lowry’s options this summer.

San Antonio Spurs

Let’s start with the destination that many assume Lowry will look at in free agency, the center of south Texas.

Lowry has continually elevated the level of play of those around him, has proven to work well with other superstars and fits in almost any scheme. The Spurs proved a couple of summers ago with LaMarcus Aldridge that they aren’t afraid to splurge in free agency for the right fit. There is one problem, though, that handicaps this decision and it’s a problem that many teams have: cap restrictions.

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According to RealGM, the Spurs have seven players that could all hit free agency this summer and they could potentially have as much as almost $24.5 million in cap space. Only a few problems with that. First off, of those free agents, players like Manu Ginobili, Jonathan Simmons and Dewayne Dedmon are all likely to return, making that cap space significantly lower. Secondly, even if the Spurs let Pau Gasol, Patty Mills, David Lee and Joel Anthony (yes, that Joel Anthony) walk in free agency, it still takes some financial gymnastics to provide Lowry the type of financial incentive he’s seeking in free agency.

This new CBA allows players like Lowry and Paul to earn up to $205 million over five years if they stick with their current teams after free agency. Let’s call it the “Kevin Durant clause.” And if the Spurs can’t clear out a reasonable amount of space to bring in Lowry, they’ll likely run it back with Mills and the gang or try and pursue George Hill, who could demand less if he wants a Gregg Popovich reunion.

Philadelphia 76ers

Lowry is a proud Philadelphian who gives much love back to his city as evidenced by the fact that he is announced at games as “a 6-foot point guard out of North Philly.” It’s been rumored that Lowry has been looking at the Sixers for awhile and that his interest increased when Bryan Colangelo was named president of basketball operations in April 2016. Colangelo was the general manager of the Raptors in 2012 and he was the one who acquired Lowry in a trade on July 11, 2012. The two have reportedly been good friends ever since.

And where money is a problem with most teams, Philly is the outlier. Everyone knows how Sam Hinkie built this team. Players like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, when all healthy, could form a super frontcourt for Colangelo and Brett Brown to build around. If Lowry were to come back home, his wish to earn a ring might take a backseat to trying to raise a young team into contention. It would be an odd move for both parties, as Lowry doesn’t fit the Sixers’ timeline for most of the roster and it would likely take Lowry until the back half of his contract to wait out the LeBron storm. If winning a ring is truly the most important thing to Lowry, he might want to pursue better options and return home later on.

Denver Nuggets

This is the most interesting option for me and apparently is already a done-deal, according to Black Tray of The Basketball Analogy. Emmanuel Mudiay is a mess of a player who can’t shoot. Jameer Nelson was a great stopgap this year but recently turned 35. And Gary Harris could use more time to mature. So why not bring in Lowry to push your team to the next level?

Lowry is a great pick-and-roll player and would be a joy to watch in a system with him and Nikola Jokic playing off each other. Add either Mason Plumlee, a re-signed Danilo Gallinari and/or a more consistent Jamal Murray in his second season and this team has the tools to make a solid playoff push. Denver also has a reasonable amount of cap flexibility if they let Roy Hibbert walk and make a choice between Plumlee or Gallinari, and could potentially offer Lowry close to what he would earn if he stayed in Toronto.

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There’s only one problem: If Lowry is trying to leave the Eastern Conference to avoid James, he’s running directly into the buzzsaw located in Golden State. It also presumes that there’s a spot in the Western Conference playoffs for the Nuggets. With teams like Timberwolves and Pelicans desperate to make the playoffs, it doesn’t look like Lowry has many options to win a ring this summer.