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Toronto Raptors mailbag: Kawhi Leonard edition

By Mike Bossetti

SAN ANTONIO,TX - JANUARY 05 : Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs tries to steal the ball from Tyler Ulis #8 of the Phoenix Suns as he tries to cut through the screen of of Marquese Chriss #0 of the Phoenix Suns at AT&T Center on January 05, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO,TX - JANUARY 05 : Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs tries to steal the ball from Tyler Ulis #8 of the Phoenix Suns as he tries to cut through the screen of of Marquese Chriss #0 of the Phoenix Suns at AT&T Center on January 05, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /
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The Kawhi Leonard trade left fans with lots of questions, so we took to twitter and found the five best and answered them in the latest Raptors Rapture mailbag.

Toronto (@air_Canada) writes: Do you feel like Kawhi will be the same player he was 2 years ago?

Probably not. Two seasons ago, was the best season of his Kawhi Leonard’s career by a significant margin. History tells us that if a player has a career season, they are likely to regress, at least a little.

However, Kawhi was only 25 that year and will be only 27 this season. He also is coming back from a pulled quad, not exactly the same as an Achilles. He is already warming to the idea of playing in Toronto and I think he will be motivated. He probably won’t be quite as good next season, but he should be close.

Alex (email): Do you think Kawhi would take a huge pay Cut next season to leave the Raptors for The Lakers?

It is a common mis-conception that players are taking a huge paycut to leave their current franchise. Yes, Toronto can offer Kawhi a larger deal in terms of total money. However, in terms of annual salary the difference is negligible. All that Toronto can offer him is an additional year of security.

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If Kawhi returns healthy and plays like a top-5/top-10 player he likely will not want to sign a long contract anyways. Player’s can receive a raise after their 10th season and Kawhi will have eight by the end of next year. The smart money is on Kawhi signing a two-year deal (with a player option) and hitting free-agency sooner rather than later, once he can receive an even larger deal.

Lane Smith(email): What are the chances Kawhi gets extended before the all-star break? If they are not willing to keep him there, what pieces to they try to acquire?

There is no chance Kawhi signs an extension before the all-star break, and he shouldn’t. Due to the weird nature of the CBA, Leonard would actually be losing money if he signs an extension prior to next offseason.

As for the chances of him being traded again, VERY low, but I wouldn’t say zero.

gabriel (@GabeDevo11): What do you think are the chance of Kawhi Leonard re-signing in free agency next year?

Low but non-zero. Just because Paul George re-signed last year there is a recency bias that Kawhi will somehow change his mind, that seems foolish. But people have fallen in love with Toronto before and if the team makes the NBA finals it becomes harder to leave. I’ll say between 5-10%.

Jessie Jim (@kingRiceCopy): Raptors will need an athletic big to compliment their starting 5 and Kawhi via trade. What do you see as a target for Masai?

Do they? I think that Masai is more than comfortable going into the season with Jonas Valanciunas (Nick Nurse favorite) as a starting center.

I also don’t think the team is interested in acquiring a back-up center at this point. Serge Ibaka will likely receive most backup center minutes, while the team attempts to play multidimensional wings at the power forward position. Nurse has wanted to modernize the starting lineup, shedding traditional centers is one way to do that.

However Toronto will need a third center in case of injury/emergency, similar to the role Lucas Nogeuira played last year. With little interest around the league, perhaps they can bring Bebe back at the minimum? If not expect either a veteran or very young player. (David West perhaps Shevon Thompson)

Mckinley (email): What is your ideal starting lineup for the start of this upcoming season?

Great question! I actually will be dedicating an entire article to this question and the multitude of possible answers early next week.

In order to not leave you hanging, I will say that the only POSITIVE starters are Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard, with OG Anunoby and Jonas Valanciunas being very likely choices as well. The fifth member is up for debate.

Next: Three ways the Kawhi Leonard trade improves the Raptors

Thanks to everyone who sent in questions, if I did not get to yours I am sorry. Continue to send us your questions by tweet and direct message to @raptorsrapture on twitter and by email to raptorsrapture@gmail.com

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