This day in Toronto Raptors history: Masai Ujiri lands Kawhi Leonard

There are few anniversary dates as significant as three years ago today, July 18, 2018, in Toronto Raptors history, as the one and only Kawhi Leonard started upon what would be his legendary, albeit brief, time in Canada.

Certainly, November 4, 1993, when the NBA Expansion Committee announced Toronto would get a future franchise, was important, as was opening night in 1995 when the Raptors beat New Jersey 94-79.

Other honorary dates include the night Damon Stoudamire became the first-ever draft pick in franchise history. The first-round series against the Knicks in the 2000 playoffs is notable, as it was Toronto’s first-ever playoff appearance.

But July 18, 2018, changed everything for the 23-year-old organization. The Raptors had just completed a stretch of unmatched playoff success, completing their fifth consecutive playoff run. Still, they needed a change in order to get over the hump, and Leonard provided that.

The Toronto Raptors needed a change after five years of early playoff exits.

Toronto’s third consecutive failure to beat the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers was even more frustrating this time around, as Toronto was the Eastern Conference’s number one seed. We love OG Anunoby as much as the next guy, but he has some struggled against LeBron.

James gave the Cavs a 3-0 stranglehold on the 2018 second-round playoff matchup when he hit a running bank shot over Anunoby at the buzzer. The Cavs would sweep the Raptors allowing James to proceed to his eighth consecutive NBA Final. The Raptors’ only claim to fame from 2014-18 was an ECF appearance against the Cavaliers.

In this article, looking back, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri stated:

"“Those five years were strong but we had been doing the same thing over and over again,” said Ujiri. “So I think it was time for change and time to disrupt a little bit. You don’t want to create even more pressure for them, in my opinion. Next year everybody will be looking at, ‘Oh, the same thing’s going to happen again.’”"

This statement came from a man who oversaw a franchise that had won over 50 games for three straight seasons. Ujiri was possessed in the summer of 2018 to make something big happen to turn his franchise into a champion.

Toronto management took a humongous risk of acquiring Kawhi Leonard.

In his desire to not have the Raptors denied its ascendancy to championship status, Ujiri swung for the fences in a transaction bolder than the risky move Glen Grunwald made back in 2001 to acquire an aging Hakeem Olajuwon.

Where Grunwald failed 17 years ago, Ujiri was determined to succeed. He sent DeMar DeRozan, one of Toronto’s best players ever, Jakob Poeltl, and a 2019 first-round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Leonard and Danny Green.

Leonard was also able to opt-out of his contract the next summer, so Ujiri put the organization in a championship or bust position. Ujiri also fired long-time head coach Dwane Casey replacing him with a rookie in Nick Nurse.

It was a huge risk in that Leonard had missed 73 games that season due to a right quadriceps injury that neither the player, Spurs’ team doctors, or independent medical advice sought by the player could agree on its severity.

Would he play often and play to the level of his immense capabilities? Turns how he answered both of those questions with a resounding yes.

The effect of the Raptors-Spurs transaction on the Toronto franchise.

The transaction itself was golden for a franchise desperate for ultimate success. It resulted in a championship less than one year later with the Raptors lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.

There was some disdain for the trade initially and notably from Kyle Lowry who was best friends with DeRozan. In a now-famous interview on the Jump with ESPN and in this clip discussing it, Lowry inferred mid-season he would do his job despite his boss Ujiri.

But the players were devoted and it showed on the court. A fourth consecutive season of 50 plus wins (58) in 2018/19 and a 24-game playoff march to the title, supplanting the mighty Warriors dynasty in the process, helped Toronto claimed its first-ever NBA title.

Leonard was the Finals MVP with a historic stat line in those 24 playoff games with averages of 31 pts and 9 rebounds.

Leonard would leave Toronto for his hometown Los Angeles Clippers during the 2019 free agency period and neither he nor the Raptors have made it back to the NBA Finals. At the very least, Leonard helped make Canada a champion, and he is forever royalty north of the border.