Kawhi Leonard’s second stint with the Toronto Raptors has already hit a snag. After playing in the Raptors’ first two games, the 35-year-old forward is now expected to miss several weeks with swelling in his left knee.
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ESPN insider Shams Charania shared the update on Tuesday.
“Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss a period of weeks due to swelling in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. MRI on Leonard’s knee showed no structural damage, but sides will use the shorter term to ramp him back up after the stoppages during the offseason.”
The Raptors’ own update was more measured. The team said imaging revealed no “acute injury” and that Leonard will begin a treatment and rehab program before being re-evaluated in one week.
The stoppages mentioned by Charania in his tweet trace back to Leonard joining the Raptors. Toronto agreed to reacquire Leonard from the Clippers on June 30, but the deal sat on hold for 76 days while the NBA investigated the Clippers for salary-cap circumvention. It wasn’t completed until September 14, leaving Leonard with a short runway into the season.
Leonard’s expected absence leaves Toronto without one of its key contributors during the early part of the season. He looked like himself in Toronto’s 2-0 start as he scored 23 points with six rebounds and four assists against the Bulls. Leonard followed it up with a 16 point outing in a 112-102 win over the Wizards.
Across the two games, he averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in 26 minutes a night. His shot hadn’t caught up yet. He went 12-of-37 from the field (32.4%), well below his career mark of 49.9%.
Then came the bad news. Just before the game against the Timberwolves, it was announced that he was not going to play.
Toronto went on to lose 117-94 against Minnesota, suffering its first defeat after opening the season with consecutive victories. The Timberwolves built a lead of as many as 32 points, leaving the Raptors struggling to keep pace despite several productive individual performances.
Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 22 points, while RJ Barrett added 20 and Immanuel Quickley finished with 19.
However, it was a dismal day for Scottie Barnes. He went 0-for-12 from the field and had the team worst -27. If the Toronto Raptors want to stay competitive during Leonard’s absence, Barrett, Quickley and Barnes will need to carry more of the load.
For Kawhi, it is the left knee this time and not the right one that required surgeries for a torn ACL in 2021 and a torn meniscus in 2023. But it isn’t new. Last season, the Clippers sent Leonard home from a January road trip with irritation in the same left knee. He still averaged 27.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals in his final season in Los Angeles.
The Raptors host Orlando on Wednesday and Friday before a Los Angeles trip against the Lakers on Sunday, and the Clippers on Monday. That last game would have been Leonard’s first against his former team. If Charania’s timeline holds, he’s likely to miss it.