If the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard trade goes through the way it’s supposed to, they’ll finally have the kind of superstar scorer and late-game finisher they were missing last season. That solves one major problem right away. It also creates another: Leonard isn’t the kind of player you can pencil in for 82 games and forget about.
At 35, with a long injury history, Leonard brings the reality of load management with him. There’s also the possibility he has to serve a suspension.
So Toronto can’t just count on the upgrade and move on. The real question is how the Raptors keep stacking regular-season wins when Leonard isn’t on the floor, especially if they want to finish high enough to get homecourt advantage and a favorable playoff matchup.
Scottie Barnes is a big part of that answer. The Raptors need him to keep playing with the same aggression and force he showed in the playoffs. But the bigger key is the one that already carried them to 46 wins last season: defense.
That side of the floor is where Toronto can survive Leonard’s absences. He’ll make the Raptors tougher defensively, no question.
But unlike on offense, he doesn’t have to be the engine there. Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles, Jamal Shead, and Ja’Kobe Walter are all still around, which means Toronto still has its best defenders from last season.
With Leonard in the mix, the Raptors can throw out some nasty lineups. Without him, they still have enough defensive pieces to stay dangerous.
That matters because replacing Leonard’s scoring is the hard part. He averaged almost 30 points per game last season, and that kind of production doesn’t just appear out of nowhere - especially for a team that already struggled offensively and needs him for exactly that reason. So when Leonard sits, Toronto’s path should look familiar: defend hard, create turnovers, force bad shots, and run.
Fast-break points were the one offensive area where the Raptors really separated themselves last season. They led the league with 18.9 fast-break points per game and ranked second in opponent turnovers per game. That formula can still work with a rotation built around Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead, with some Allen Graves and Kyle Anderson minutes mixed in when Leonard is unavailable.
If Toronto can keep opponents uncomfortable and hold down their scoring, Barnes, Barrett, and Quickley won’t need to carry an impossible load every night. They’ll just need to do enough while the Raptors let their defense and transition game do the heavy lifting.
In Other News...
Warriors Fans Suddenly Have A Stephen Curry Scenario To Fear
The idea of Stephen Curry in Toronto is the kind of offseason hypotheticals that usually gets filed away as internet noise, but this one has a little more texture because of the Raptors connection to him. Currys family history includes a Toronto chapter through his father, and he also spent part of his childhood in the city, which gives any theoretical fit a different feel than a random star swap.
Golden State fans are still left with the uneasy part of the conversation, though, because Curry has been open to the idea of creative thinking if it helps the Warriors get back on track after injuries altered the picture. Even in a speculative world, his future is not something that can be treated like a normal trade chip, and that is what makes the scenario worth watching rather than dismissing outright. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Revenge Path Just Got A Lot More Real
Cleveland already made Toronto work for everything in their recent playoff series, pushing it to seven games even without some key pieces in the lineup. Since then, the Cavaliers have kept Donovan Mitchell in place and are lining up another addition in Mario Hezonja, but the roster around him has changed enough to make the East feel a little less fixed than it did in the spring.
For the Raptors, the bigger point is that their own ceiling could rise fast if Kawhi Leonard ends up in the mix and stays available. A healthier, more dangerous Toronto group would look like a far tougher matchup for Cleveland next time around, especially with the Cavs having already shown they can be stretched when the series gets physical and the margins get thin. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors May Have Found More Than Just Another Veteran Voice
Garrett Temples departure left the Raptors without one of the quieter stabilizers in their locker room, and Toronto moved quickly to replace that veteran presence with Kyle Anderson in free agency. The fit makes sense on paper. Anderson is the kind of experienced, versatile forward who can steady a second unit, give the staff reliable minutes when needed and help younger players navigate the daily grind that comes with a long season.
What makes the signing more interesting is that Toronto may be getting more than a placeholder for Temples old role. Anderson has bounced around the league recently, but he also brings a playoff background that should matter to a team trying to raise its standard around a young core. If he settles where the Raptors expect in the rotation, his value could come less from headlines and more from the sort of dependable influence that tends to show up when the games start meaning more. [Read more 🡒]