The Toronto Raptors clearly believe Kawhi Leonard was worth the wait.
More than two months passed between when the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers agreed on the framework for a Leonard trade and when they finally completed the transaction.
Since that original agreement, everything has changed for the Clippers. Their role in a Leonard-related cap-circumvention scandal cost the franchise five first-round draft picks and a $30-million fine, among other significant penalties. Conversely, things have gone swimmingly in Toronto, where the Raptors will happily welcome Leonard back to town after the two-time Finals MVP escaped L.A. with a $700,000 slap on the wrist.
As the Clippers deal with the ramifications of franchise-wrecking punishments and begin the long process of climbing out of the rubble, the Raptors can once again reach for the heights Leonard lifted them to seven years ago. And make no mistake, he's capable of doing it again.
What's been lost amid the seemingly endless trail of cap-circumvention evidence and Leonard's equally long injury history is that he's still got it.
No one's arguing that trading for Leonard - and likely handing him a max extension - is without risk: He's 35 years old, has averaged only 55.5 games per season since returning from a knee injury that wiped out his 2021-22 campaign, and he hasn't appeared in a conference finals game since 2019. But much like the last time Toronto acquired him, Leonard is the right fit at the right time to push the Raptors over the top.
Leonard's coming off a sensational season, averaging a career-high 27.9 points per game on 62.9% true shooting while playing in 65 contests. For his efforts, he earned his seventh All-Star and All-NBA selections and was one of only eight players to receive MVP votes. By virtually every measure, Leonard remains a top-10 player, and for an extended stretch in the middle of last season, he again looked like the league's very best.
That's the kind of star Toronto's adding to a 46-win club that pushed the heavily favored Cavaliers to Game 7 in the playoffs. Notably, the Raptors didn't have to surrender any of their five most-used players in that series to acquire Leonard. The team did part with All-Star Brandon Ingram, failed prospect Gradey Dick, and control of five picks (two first-rounders, one first-round swap, and two second-rounders), but the gamble made sense given Toronto's outlook.
The Raptors were a solid young team as previously constructed, but they didn't have a clear runway. The path forward was complicated by the fact several veterans were attached to negative-value long-term contracts. Many assumed the Raptors' murky financial picture would make it hard to acquire the type of Leonard-level superstar who could propel them back to contention. In the end, Toronto landed Leonard while ditching one of those burdensome contracts, holding onto their top prospects, and keeping a tradable first-rounder (plus three more swappable firsts).
Assuming Ingram eventually picked up his 2027-28 player option, the Raptors would've been on the hook to pay the one-dimensional star - who missed more games than Leonard over the last four years - 24% of the salary cap for the next two seasons (about $81.9 million in total). Leonard will earn 30.5% of the cap this season ($50.3 million) and can extend at roughly 35% for only two additional years due to the NBA's Over-38 rule. That would bring his three-year total to roughly $175 million, but upgrading from two seasons of Ingram to three years of Leonard is worth it, especially when Toronto kept the rest of its rising core intact.
Ingram enjoyed a successful campaign in Canada until a heel injury hampered his postseason performance, but Leonard operates in another stratosphere. Ingram's arrival helped address some of the Raptors' half-court woes, but Leonard's an even better mid-range scorer, a more efficient offensive player, and a superior (and more willing) 3-point shooter.
| 2025-26 | PPG | TS% | STL+BLK | VORP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard | 27.9 | 62.9% | 2.3 | 5.3 (5th) |
| Ingram | 21.5 | 57.3% | 1.5 | 1.7 (71st) |
Leonard also remains a game-changing defender, even if he's no longer a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. And yet, he won't even be the best defensive player in Toronto's frontcourt, with Scottie Barnes and the budding Collin Murray-Boyles both capable of carrying that torch for years to come. The trio's potential at that end of the floor should terrify the rest of the league, as a top-five defense now upgrades from Ingram to Leonard.
The Raptors acquiring a player of Leonard's caliber without trading Murray-Boyles was worth the draft capital alone. Consider it icing on the cake that they also kept youngsters like Ja'Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead, and recent first-round pick Allen Graves.
Even the aforementioned high-priced veterans look like better fits with Leonard in the fold. RJ Barrett, who's extension-eligible, will be a crucial off-ball threat and release valve for Leonard and Barnes, and his defensive shortcomings will be better masked. Meanwhile, starting point guard Immanuel Quickley - a quietly solid two-way player last season - can act as a caretaker and shooter rather than needing to justify his contract with a larger role. Quickley's job just got a lot easier, especially if Barnes can touch the heights he did last spring as a point forward.
The $103.6 million owed to center Jakob Poeltl, who was slowed by back issues last year, remains a problem. But again, the Raptors no longer have to worry about that contract impeding their ability to pair Barnes with another star. They've landed the big fish, and they're still deep enough to survive regular-season stretches without Leonard.
After the Raptors broke through as a top-five seed last season, a much-improved Eastern Conference threatened to leave them behind. Instead, Leonard provides the team a path to the kind of genuine contention this core didn't look capable of.
It's a stunning turnaround, and one that should further cement Leonard's folk-hero status north of the border. What a stark contrast to the destructive legacy he left in Los Angeles.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.
