The Raptors got a huge new reason to like their Kawhi Leonard deal, and it came from an ugly Brandon Ingram update.
During 2026 NBA Media Day, Toronto fans finally got their first official look at Kawhi Leonard back in a Raptors setting, fresh headband and all. Darko Rajaković and Scottie Barnes drew plenty of attention too. But the biggest headline tied to the summer blockbuster didn’t come from Toronto’s side at all - it came from Ingram, the former Raptors forward and now-Clippers player who was at the center of the trade.
What had been viewed as a right heel injury from the 2026 postseason turned out to be worse. Surgery showed that Ingram had also partially torn his Achilles. The expectation now is that he’ll miss the start of the 2026-27 NBA season, and there is no firm return date yet.
That development changes the way the trade looks. Toronto sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 to Los Angeles.
When the deal first broke in late June or early July, the reaction was mostly positive. The Raptors had made a bold move to strengthen a team that had already shown it could scrap in the playoffs.
There was also a human side to moving on from Ingram. He arrived with big expectations, was arguably the first star to fully buy into a Toronto move, and carried himself with a smile. Still, parting with the Notorious B.I.3 was the kind of hard call Toronto had to make if it wanted to keep pushing this core forward.
The main concern in the deal was always the draft haul going out the door, especially those first-round picks reaching into the 2030s. That’s the kind of price that can haunt a front office if the player coming back is aging, injured, or both.
But with the new injury news attached to Ingram, the Raptors’ side of the trade looks a lot cleaner. Only two firsts went out, and Toronto kept additional assets in the building.
They also didn’t have to sacrifice more young pieces like Ja’Kobe Walter, Collin Murray-Boyles, or Jamal Shead. And while there was at least a case for Gradey Dick finding a fresh start in Los Angeles, his recent play in Toronto had already started to push him out of the long-term picture anyway.
For Toronto, the logic is simple enough: if you’re going to move off an expensive, injury-prone player, it helps when the return is Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors still have to see what Leonard looks like once the season begins, but Ingram’s latest setback gives the trade another layer of vindication.
For the Clippers, it’s the other side of a brutal coin flip. They were already dealing with the hit from draft capital tied to the Kawhi investigation, and with the Klaw pushing to get out of LA, they were stuck in a bad spot. Now they’re the team absorbing the fresh concern around Ingram.
One team’s problem became another team’s advantage. And right now, that’s making Toronto’s end of the deal look even better.
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