Reactions to the Raptors’ reunion with Kawhi Leonard were largely positive. The Raptors turned Brandon Ingram into a better player, got an All-NBA veteran to pair with Scottie Barnes, and didn’t have to stray from their defensive identity to do so. A healthy Kawhi Leonard promises the Raptors a real shot at contending in the Eastern Conference.
But not everyone is optimistic about the Raptors’ potential with Leonard leading the charge. Bill Simmons, for one, voiced some doubts about the situation on the July 2 episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“Kawhi hasn’t won a playoff series in five years,” Simmons said. “Kawhi, with the Clippers, won two playoff series in seven years and missed more games than just about anybody other than Embiid over the last six. Everyone is talking about ‘Oh, Kawhi, Toronto. This is the missing piece.’ Kawhi lost the f---ing first Play-In game this year to the Warriors…The 2019 Kawhi, I just don’t think, is there anymore.”
Leonard actually played more games in his last stint with the Clippers than he did in the 2018-19 season with the Raptors and put up better scoring numbers. He averaged 27.9 points on 50.5% shooting from the field and 38.7% from behind the arc, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Still, the risk that he misses too much time to actually take the Raptors to the next level is very real.
The Raptors are gambling on their ability to keep Leonard healthy
Leonard played 60 games for the Raptors in the 2018-19 season and averaged almost 40 minutes per game in the playoffs after playing just nine games the previous season. Alex McKechnie, the vice president of player health and performance, who helped keep Leonard healthy seven years ago, is still in Toronto. The Raptors are banking on their ability to replicate that success with an older Leonard.
If they can, he and Scottie Barnes could lead the team on a deep playoff run. With a healthy Leonard in the mix, the Raptors will be a defensive nightmare, and he addresses many of their offensive issues in the halfcourt.
If they can’t, this trade will quickly look bad. The Raptors didn’t give up post-Leonard first-round picks just to find themselves suffering an early playoff exit again and wasting Barnes’s mid-twenties.
But no trade comes without risk, and the Raptors had to take a leap eventually. Considering how close they were to beating a Cavs team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals and how open things seemed behind the Knicks to end the season, this summer was the right time. The potential is just as real as the risks.
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