The Knicks have no reason to lose sleep over Kawhi Leonard, but the latest twist around Toronto still lands on New York’s radar.
The Raptors-Clippers deal remains on hold while the investigation into the alleged Aspiration cap circumvention scandal plays out. Toronto, understandably, doesn’t want to absorb any punishment for something it had no part in. If the situation breaks the way the Raptors want, Leonard should be back in Toronto by training camp.
That’s also how Leonard sees it, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line on Monday. Fischer reported that Leonard still believes the trade will eventually be completed and that he’ll be back with the Raptors in time for camp.
What Leonard believes doesn’t change the fact that the final call rests elsewhere, but the Clippers and Raptors are aligned here. If the deal gets cleared, Leonard would begin a second stint in Toronto and give New York one more Atlantic Division problem to keep in mind.
Toronto clearly thinks the gamble is worth it. The package on the table - Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks - is steep, but the Raptors evidently felt they couldn’t pass on a player who just turned 35. With Leonard in the fold, their chances of getting out of the East rise sharply.
And there’s still real basketball reason for the intrigue. Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points last season while shooting a career-best 50.5% from the field in 32.1 minutes per game over 65 games. He also averaged 1.9 steals per game, his best mark since his San Antonio days.
Still, Toronto knows exactly what comes with him. The Raptors don’t exactly have stars lining up to head north, and Leonard’s history in that market already has a full arc: he wasn’t on board with the 2018 trade, then won a title and left for the Clippers in free agency anyway.
Now, seven years later, he wanted a return to Toronto, and the team wanted it too.
The concern, as always, is health. Leonard played 65 games this past season, but the year before that he appeared in only 37. Across his six seasons with the Clippers, he reached the 60-game threshold just twice, and in his first full season there in 2019-20 he played 57 games.
That kind of track record only gets more uncomfortable with age. If the trade goes through and the Raptors extend him as planned, Toronto will be carrying serious pressure to win again with him.
For the Knicks, though, the bigger picture hasn’t changed. New York remains the favorite to come out of the East and, until someone knocks them off, the champs.
Repeating is never simple, but the Knicks are in a strong spot even after losing Mitchell Robinson in free agency. Their starting five is still intact, and the depth behind it is built to survive the grind of the regular season and another long playoff push.
They don’t have to figure out how a new roster fits together, the way Philadelphia does. They don’t have to wonder whether Leonard’s body will cooperate, either.
Every contender needs some luck, but some paths demand a lot more of it than others. Toronto would be in that group if this Leonard move finally gets across the line.
The upside is obvious; so is the anxiety. Fans would love the reunion, but they’d likely be holding their breath every time he steps on the floor.
If everything falls into place, Leonard would make the Raptors a real two-way threat again. But even with all the buzz around Philadelphia and now Toronto, the Knicks still sit at the top. And as for New York, the message stays the same: bring on the new challenges.
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