NBA forward Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Sports News
The deal marks a return to Canada for the star who led the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019, winning Finals MVP after he averaged 28.5 points per game in the victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Leonard scored 732 points during the 2019 playoffs, the third most in a single postseason in NBA history, trailing Michael Jordan in 1992 and LeBron James in 2018. He played just one season with the Raptors, as he was traded by the San Antonio Spurs in July 2018, then left Toronto as a free agent in 2019 to join the Clippers.
The two-time Finals MVP, who turned 35 on Monday, leaves the Clippers following six seasons in Los Angeles as the team decides to move toward a younger direction.
Key Moments
LA and Toronto engaged in trade talks over the last couple of weeks on Leonard — whose reps informed teams across the league that he wanted to sign an extension only with the Raptors, sources said. Leonard has the 2026-27 season left on his contract at $50.3 million. He had preferred to stay with the Clippers, but the franchise made no long-term commitments to him this offseason, sources said.
Three key reasons Leonard was open to this deal to Toronto, according to sources: Familiarity with a Toronto organization that has the majority of its front office structure in place, now led by executive vice president Bobby Webster. Leonard also likes the city of Toronto and believes the Raptors can contend in the Eastern Conference.
Leonard will now be eligible to sign up to a two-year, $123.7 million extension with his new team, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Leonard envisions ending his career in Toronto, sources said.
Analysis
Leonard was a three-time All-Star for the Clippers and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 27.9 points and played 65 regular-season games. It was just his second season with 60 games played since his season in Toronto. Leonard finished seventh in MVP voting and was named to second-team All-NBA — his fourth All-NBA honor as a member of the Clippers. The Clippers, however, went 42-40 and lost in the play-in tournament to the Golden State Warriors.
The trade is a pivot from the Clippers and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who said at his end-of-season news conference in April that he wanted to keep Leonard.
“Our plan is to win with Kawhi,” he said. “We obviously showed as an organization that we want to continue and we are driven to win. So, at the appropriate time, we’ll sit down with Kawhi, and very similar to 2024, lay out our plan. And if our goals are aligned, then we’d like to win with Kawhi.”
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