LeBron James finally announced his free agency decision. He is headed to Philadelphia to boost an already dangerous team headlined by Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe. If the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through as intended, the Raptors are in a good position to compete with the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
However, between the 76ers, Knicks, Pacers, and other strong teams, they may find that they need more than “just” Kawhi Leonard to be a true Eastern Conference contender, especially considering Leonard’s injury risk and need for load management.
Once the trade for Leonard goes through—hopefully, it’s a matter of when and not if—the Raptors will still have some first-round picks, a few second-round picks, RJ Barrett’s expiring salary (unless they extend him this summer, which seems unlikely at this point), and Immanuel Quickley’s and Jakob Poeltl’s big contracts. They may have to part ways with some of those picks and players before the trade deadline or next summer to upgrade the starting point guard and center positions next to Leonard and Barnes.
Quickley and Poeltl aren’t bad players—although Poeltl has fallen out of grace with Raptors fans after a disappointing season—but there are some concerns about whether they are good enough to fill big starting roles for a Raptors team hoping to compete for a title over the next few seasons.
They don’t match up particularly well with starting point guards and centers on the teams projected to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference, all of which are also surrounded by high-level forwards and wings. The Knicks start Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the 76ers have Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, and the Pacers will get Tyrese Haliburton back from injury alongside Ivica Zubac. Zubac is the only one in that group who hasn’t been an All-Star yet.
The Raptors don’t have to rush, but must remain open to another trade
Implementing a player like Kawhi Leonard into Darko Rajakovic’s system will take some time, especially considering that many of the Raptors’ rotational players are very young and expected to take on significant roles on a team that wants to compete with the likes of the defending champions for the Eastern Conference crown.
So, the Raptors can afford some patience and don’t have to make a panic trade during the 2026-27 season. At the same time, however, they need to be aware of the fact that their window of winning with Kawhi Leonard as a top player on the team will close sooner rather than later. After all, he is already 35 and has suffered several serious injuries. If there’s an opportunity to improve the roster around him and Barnes meaningfully, the Raptors cannot let it pass by.
Once you trade for someone like Leonard, your organization faces a lot of pressure to win. If the trade goes through, the Raptors lose the luxury of being careful and patient with their assets.
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