Seven years after leaving the city where he won its first NBA championship, Kawhi Leonard might be heading back to finish what many thought would never happen. What initially seemed like another major offseason trade scenario could turn into one of the NBA’s rare full-circle stories.
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ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Los Angeles Clippers are nearing a deal to send Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-round picks. However, the trade package isn’t the main focus behind the deal.
“The ability now to go to the Raptors and contend in the Eastern Conference and to be able to say that I ended my career with the Raptors after playing for the Clippers and the Spurs, I’m told Kawhi Leonard views this as an opportunity to retire in Toronto,” Charania said.
Earlier this year, Leonard opened a new basketball gym for kids in Scarborough. He also hosted a youth basketball clinic at TAT Stadium. It was then that he told the crowd that Toronto “is still in my heart.”
Charania reported that Toronto was the only team Leonard was willing to sign a long-term extension with if traded outside Los Angeles, which significantly limited the Clippers’ leverage in negotiations. He has one season left on his contract, where he’s owed $50.3 million. Now, according to Bobby Marks, Leonard will be eligible to sign up to a two-year, $123.7 million extension with his new team.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Clippers are nearing deal sending Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, 2 first-round picks, 1 pick swap and 2 second-rounders, sources tell ESPN. A return to Canada for the Raptors champion and two-time Finals MVP.
Leonard’s reported desire to finish his career in Toronto has added importance, given how his first stint went. After arriving in a blockbuster trade from San Antonio in 2018, Leonard led the Raptors to their first NBA championship, earned Finals MVP honors after averaging 28.5 points per game against the Golden State Warriors, and delivered one of the most remarkable postseason runs in league history before moving to Los Angeles in free agency just weeks later.
The Klaw scored 732 points in the 2019 playoffs, the third-most in a postseason in NBA history, trailing only Michael Jordan in 1992 and LeBron James in 2018.
According to Charania, the Clippers were unwilling to make the same long-term commitment Toronto was ready to offer. The Dallas Mavericks also explored a deal for Leonard that would include P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, and draft picks, but reports indicated that Toronto was the only place where Leonard was willing to commit to an extension. Tim MacMahon reported that Leonard left the door open for a San Antonio reunion, but the Spurs had no interest.
Brian Windhorst Explains Why Kawhi Leonard’s Move Will Change the East
“This is a real balance of power shifting trade,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “This is the first major transaction that has changed the balance of power. The Heat have the potential to do that, but they aren’t yet ready to contend. The Raptors are now ready to contend. The New York Knicks, for the first time since they got done with their parade, are going to sit up a little bit on this one… This changes how the Eastern Conference shakes out… This is taking a team that could be a conference finalist next year, total powerhouse, two-way wing player, coming off one of the best years of his career.”
Windhorst also pointed out that Toronto is no longer acquiring Leonard as a one-year risk like it did in 2018. With a reported extension expected after the trade, the Raptors would be adding a proven championship cornerstone to a roster built around Scottie Barnes, giving the franchise a much longer competitive window than during Leonard’s original championship run.
Leonard’s return doesn’t just reunite the Raptors with the player who won the franchise’s only championship. If Charania’s report is accurate, it also offers Toronto a chance to be the final stop in one of the NBA’s most accomplished careers, completing a full-circle story few predicted when Leonard left in 2019.