The Toronto Raptors definitely left their mark on the 2026 NBA Offseason on Tuesday, landing Kawhi Leonard in a trade for the second time in franchise history.
But from here on out, things are expected to be rather quiet for Bobby Webster and company, as the acquisition of Leonard has placed Toronto in a tricky place financially. Because the nature of the deal saw the Raptors send out less salary with Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick than they took back with Leonard, they are hard-capped at the first apron.
With the deal unable to be processed until July 6th, Toronto has some time to avoid being hardcapped, as they could look to add additional salary to the original trade. Some ways to do that would be to add Trayce Jackson-Davis or Jamison Battle to the deal, or to sign and trade one of A.J. Lawson or Garrett Temple at a dollar above the minimum.
Doing this could help place Toronto in the second apron and open up more flexibility for the front office to round out this roster.
Also worth noting is that Leonard has a $7.45 million trade bonus that he can either waive or not, which could further complicate the Raptors' financial situation. If he doesn’t waive it or at least partially waive it, the trade won’t be allowed to go through.
Kawhi Leonard is great, but what's the rest of the roster looking like?
When you look back at that Raptors team that won it all with Leonard in 2019, they were obviously led and dependent on their superstar. But they also had incredible depth to help them throughout the regular season and win those inevitable Kawhi-less nights. This time around, that isn’t looking like it will be a major option.
With three open roster spots and rookie second-round pick Jaden Bradley still unsigned, the Raptors will likely have two openings following the processing of the Leonard deal.
Because of the financial position this trade puts Toronto in, those two spots will likely be filled with players on minimum contracts. This is where questions arise about whether the Raptors' 8-man rotation is talented enough to support Leonard and Scottie Barnes through an 82-game regular season and a playoff run. I’m not sure.
This situation is why it makes more sense than ever, if you’re Bobby Webster, to at least start exploring avenues involving trading RJ Barrett for more depth. Both Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley have continuously struggled with their health, making the lack of frontcourt depth and shot creation scary. If one of those two goes down again, as they did in 2025-26, will this team survive, especially with Leonard likely on a load-management plan? I can’t for sure say yes.
I understand the joy that bringing back Leonard has given fans, especially with him choosing Toronto this time around and appearing committed to closing out his career as a Raptors. But this deal does come with some rather large financial red flags that put a serious cap on the Raptors' creativity and flexibility for the rest of the offseason and into the regular season.
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