The 76ers and Kyle Lowry are better off without each other | Marcus Hayes

You can't blame Sixers fans for dreaming.

They're desperate to watch a proven, full-time NBA starter for the first time since Thaddeus Young in 2014. It's only natural that they fantasize about Kyle Lowry coming home.

Lowry is more than just a starter; he's a three-time all-star, and he's hungry to win.

That's why it can't happen.

Lowry told reporters Monday that he will opt out of the final year of his contract with Toronto and become unrestricted, free to sign with any team … including the Sixers. Gasp.

He's a North Philly kid who played at Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova. Current Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo brought him to Toronto. It's a match made in heaven, right?

Wrong.

All things considered, Lowry and the Sixers would be an unholy union.

He's 31. He just had his best season but that's too old for a rebuilding team.

He wants a 4-year deal that starts at $35 million and ends at $40 million. That's too much for a player who can't help you win it all right now. He's a finishing piece, not a building block.

More than anything else, he said, he wants to win a title. No team has more cash available than the Sixers but no team is further from a title, either. Lowry might bring them one step closer, perhaps even to the .500 level and a playoff berth.

That's not enough winning for Lowry and not enough return on investment for the Sixers. He tasted the Eastern Conference finals last year and he made it to the second round this season. If he's talking about going out West to avoid LeBron then coming to Philadelphia gets him no farther from his nemesis.

Sure, it's enticing to imagine. With Lowry tutoring Ben Simmons and feeding Joel Embiid and Dario Saric the Sixers might indeed reach the playoffs … but, frankly, they are probably two seasons from winning a playoff round. They're maybe four seasons from sniffing a conference final.

It's not just the inevitable mediocrity, it's the overall impossibility of the situation. Lowry would be expected to help convert Simmons, a college power forward, into an NBA point guard. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. Simmons is a cornerstone. Lowry would be a stopgap. A $150 million, discontented stopgap.

Really: In what universe would Lowry choose to waste the last good years of his career as a nursemaid?

By that same token, why would the Sixers want Lowry to come and steal Simmons' minutes? If they're serious about Simmons becoming the next Magic Johnson, then they must give the ball to Simmons and let him play the position. This cannot be done in half measures.

For the sake of argument, let's assume no team comes within $5 million of Lowry's annual asking price. Assume $20 million over four seasons would make him willing to forfeit his win-now criteria.

The Sixers still would be smart to avoid him. It's better to build through the draft. They could use their 2017 lottery pick (or picks, since they get the Lakers' if it's not a top-3 pick) to draft one of the five guards who might go in the top 10. Lowry's good right now. They might all be better than him.

A Kyle Lowry homecoming makes no sense.

But go ahead.

You can dream.