Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) tries to get the ball from L.A. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during a 2025 game in Toronto. If the reported deal goes through, Barnes and Leonard would form a powerful duo in the NBA.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers are nearing a deal that will bring Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto, according to ESPN.
The Raptors and Clippers are working on a trade that would bring the 2019 NBA finals MVP back to Canada, where he brought the Raps their lone NBA title, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday. Toronto would give up Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap and two second-rounders.
Leonard had one year and US$50-million left on his contract in L.A.
“The Clippers failed to give him a contract extension commitment, but multiple other teams out there were pursuing Kawhi Leonard for the last few weeks were willing to give him an extension,” reported Charania. “But he only wanted to go to one team and give only one team a contract extension commitment, and that’s the Toronto Raptors.”
Charania said there were three keys to this trade. First, Leonard’s familiarity with the Raptors organization, including general manager Bobby Webster, who also led the 2018 trade that brought Leonard to Toronto from the San Antonio Spurs. Second, his perceived ability with the Raptors to contend in the Eastern Conference. Third, the possibility of retiring as a Raptor.
Leonard broke the hearts of Raptors fans seven years ago when he left Toronto after playing a single but unforgettable championship season. The San Diego native chose to go sign as a free agent with the Clippers. His departure came just weeks after he celebrated in a massive ticker tape parade that gripped Toronto.
Toronto lost the enigmatic star it had come to adore – Fun Guy, they called him, and Board man. The team’s faithful was left wondering what else could have been possible if he’d stayed.
Now 35, he is coming off a career season in LA. He averaged 27.9 points and played 65 regular-season games this past year – just his second with at least 60 played since his one season in Toronto. Leonard finished seventh in MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA second team, his fourth All-NBA honour with L.A. Yet the Clippers went 42-40 and lost in the play-in tournament to the Golden State Warriors.
It poses the question: can the Raptors recreate the magic with Leonard? What could he accomplish playing with the new-look Raptors, a crop led by budding 24-year-old star Scottie Barnes?
Leonard led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship, taking the city of Toronto and Canada into his larger-than-life grip.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
The chatter began to sizzle on basketball programs and sports radio shows about what impact Leonard could have in Toronto if the deal becomes reality.
“Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors instantly makes them a title contender,” predicted former NBA player turned basketball analyst Kendrick Perkins on ESPN Tuesday. “Him going to Toronto, I would put them right under the New York Knicks for as the second best team in the Eastern Conference.”
In Toronto, the afternoon sports radio stations were shocked by the news. Some called it a big moment for Webster and his first big swing since the Raptors parted ways with president Masai Ujiri.
“You’ve got Kawhi back in town; I never thought I’d say those words,” said Bryan Hayes on TSN 1050’s OverDrive. “Never in a million years could you have convinced me this guy was going to pull a power move to get Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto.”
The Raptors tried mightily to keep him after the 2019 title run, Toronto’s biggest major sports championship in over a quarter century.
Fans and journalists speculated on his every move when he was deciding his future seven years ago – he was spotted and celebrated attending a Blue Jays game and visiting Niagara Falls. A news helicopter later followed his arrival in Toronto when he’d returned to discuss a contract extension. Fans crowded outside a Toronto hotel that he may have entered.
Back then more than a thousand businesses took part in a campaign to “Ka’Wine and Dine” the finals MVP, all affixing the same sticker to their front windows, featuring his face and the words “KAWHI EATS FREE HERE.”
The movement extended far beyond restaurants, as businesses promoted free stuff for the star player if he’d remain a Raptor – everything from tattoos for life to summer camp for his kids, dance lessons, custom suits to real estate advising. Even then-mayor John Tory issued a plea for him to stay.
Adam Robles, one of the organizers of the Ka’Wine and Dine campaign back in 2019 (a collaboration by the website Raptors Republic and agency ReThink) remembers fans doing “everything they could to re-sign [Leonard]”.
Raptor fans poured their hearts out to Leonard after he'd led the team to the 2019 NBA title. This fan was one of many who stood outside Toronto's Hazelton Hotel on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, as rumours circulated that Leonard was meeting representatives of the Raptors.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
He knows Leonard noticed – he remembers the player actually shouting out the campaign while thanking Toronto fans during his introductory press conference with the Clippers. But Robles has muted feelings about a Leonard return to Toronto, saying he liked the young Raptors roster that went seven games with Cleveland in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
“He’ll be the best player while he’s still healthy and available, but he doesn’t necessarily match up to Scottie’s timeline or the rest of the timeline of our younger players,” said Robles, who has been a Raptors season ticket holder since 2013.
“Kawhi is 35 right now. Obviously he’s an incredible player, but I’m just really indifferent about him coming back.”