Kawhi Leonard is officially a Toronto Raptor again and signed a big extension. In theory, Leonard could catapult the Raptors into Eastern Conference contention if he stays healthy and all the pieces around him and Scottie Barnes click into place.
The Raptors seem fairly confident that they can keep him healthy, but not everyone believes in his availability.
“I’m very high on the Raptors as a regular season team,” Zach Lowe said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “I just don’t know why anyone would expect Kawhi to be able to get through…three playoff series after a functional regular season when..he has not finished a second-round playoff series since 2020.”
The expectation is that Leonard will eventually make the Raptors championship contenders. That may not happen this season, but just taking the Raptors past the first round and finishing a second round, no matter the outcome, would be a big step in the right direction for Leonard and the team alike.
Leonard’s second Raptors stint could be huge for his legacy
Reporting has it that Leonard wants to retire a Raptor. After everything that has happened with the LA Clippers from the lack of playoff success to the salary-cap circumvention scandal—and his exit from San Antonio—Leonard now has a chance to retire with at least one fanbase on his side.
He brought the Raptors a title in 2019, but left right after. If he helps the Raptors build another contender around Scottie Barnes and the rest of the young core, fans may be able to forgive his 2019 exit that potentially cost Toronto a second title.
Even if he doesn’t win another title with the Raptors, Leonard has the chance to find playoff success again and overshadow his disappointing postseason record with the Clippers.
It was a risk worth taking for the Raptors
The Raptors were well aware of the risks that come with trading for Kawhi Leonard. They were also aware of the fact that they needed to improve the roster. Getting a superstar scorer and closer was the easiest way to do that. Finding someone who can be that and also not drag the team down defensively isn’t easy.
Leonard at least gives them a shot at a top seed in the Eastern Conference and playoff success past the first round. If they had stuck with Brandon Ingram as Barnes’s co-star, they probably would have been a play-in team behind the likes of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, and Indiana.
That would be a big step in the wrong direction for a team that just finished fifth in the standings, even if it overperformed.
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