Bobby Webster did it. His first major move as the Raptors' lead man sees him bringing Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto for a second tenure.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Raptors have traded Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap, and two second-rounders for Leonard.
This now gives the Raptors a dynamic duo of Scottie Barnes and Leonard that very few teams in the league can match in terms of versatility and pure talent. As great a story as bringing Leonard back to the same organization he carried to a championship in 2019, there are still more moves to be made if the Raptors are looking to repeat the results from his time in Canada. These changes start with hometown talent RJ Barrett.
Now I know what you’re thinking: here we go again, Chris is finding new ways to hate on Barrett, suggesting he isn’t a winning player and doesn’t fit this roster. Which is understandable, but when looking at this roster, Barrett is the sole player on a big contract that should have positive trade value and could help Webster round out this roster.
RJ Barrett limits the Raptors' ceiling immensely
After an electric postseason run that saw Mississauga's own hit a game-winner at home in Game 6 against the Cleveland Cavaliers while averaging 24.1 points per game, Barrett’s value may never be higher. With him on the last year of his deal, Toronto could look to flex his near $30 million salary in a trade for two high-quality connective pieces to surround Barnes and Leonard. When you have two two-way studs like the Raptors have, you want the ball in their hands as much as humanly possible if you’re head coach Darko Rajakovic, and Barrett prevents that.
Most people would counter that point by asking: Why not just trade Immanuel Quickley if you’re looking to generate more touches for Leonard and Barnes? Well, because Quickley is on an undesirable contract, he provides 10x the amount of floor spacing that Barrett does, and has an injury history that would also hurt his trade value.
The return in an IQ trade would be incredibly poor, while trading Barrett could likely net Toronto a backup center and floor spacer. An instant mock trade that comes to mind is a deal with the Kings (who at last year's deadline had interest in Barrett) that would land Toronto Malik Monk and Dylan Cardwell. I’m not 100 percent sure the Kings would take that, but if they did, it would give the Raptors another shot creator and floor spacer in Monk and a high-level backup five in Cardwell. While also opening up the starting two-guard spot for Ja’Kobe Walter.
When I was still living under the assumption that BI would be back next season, I still felt Barrett needed to go because it was limiting the amount of touches Ingram was getting and putting a ceiling on his impact. The same story is there with Leonard now returning, except instead of limiting a top-35 player in the league, they’d be limiting a top-10 guy, who averaged 27.9 points per game last season.
If the Raptors wanna maximize their new window with a 35-year-old Kawhi Leonard, they need to remain active and look to surround him with a roster that better suits him. And that process starts with trading RJ Barrett.
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