Kawhi Leonard is moving through his Raptors return at a measured pace, and on Tuesday he said the process feels good so far.
Leonard, entering his 15th NBA season, took a notable step Monday by going through a full practice for the first time since training camp opened. On Tuesday in Toronto, he was back on the court and said he’s easing into things as he works toward a preseason debut.
“I feel good. Being smart, taking it slow.
Just getting familiar with everybody. Getting the names right with each coach, player development, learning the plays.
Learning everything that [head coach Darko Rajakovic] has been doing the past three or four years,” Leonard said.
TSN’s Josh Lewenberg reported the Raptors have been cautious with Leonard because of his age, his long injury history and the complicated summer that kept the trade from the Los Angeles Clippers to Toronto in limbo for months. That patience appears likely to continue. Lewenberg reported Leonard is not expected to play Saturday in Vancouver when the Raptors face the Clippers in preseason action, though there is a chance he could suit up the following week.
Toronto has two exhibition games against the New York Knicks next Tuesday and Thursday, then closes the preseason Friday, Oct. 16 against the Detroit Pistons. The regular season opens Oct. 21 against the Pistons.
For Leonard, part of the adjustment is simply getting back into the flow of a familiar place after seven seasons in Los Angeles.
“It’s been fun. And everybody’s, like I’ve been saying, been coming in and making sure I understand everything.
And, you know, they’re just welcoming. It’s been a great transition,” he said Tuesday.
The Raptors acquired Leonard from the Clippers in a deal that sent forwards Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, plus two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round swap and two second-round picks to Los Angeles. The agreement was reached June 30 but didn’t become official until mid-September while the NBA investigated Leonard and the Clippers for salary cap circumvention.
Leonard had already addressed the league’s investigation at media day last week, and he again steered the conversation back to basketball. He said he wanted to leave the matter behind and focus on his new start in Toronto.
“I’m excited to be here. I know why some of you guys came.
You want to hear about the investigation, but you know, talking with the NBA and the [NBPA], I think the best decision is to move forward and focus on my time being a Toronto Raptor,” he said on Sept. 28.
“I already was a distraction for the past 70 days and wasn’t able to meet with my teammates, do any of that minicamp stuff with them.”
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Clippers Just Lost More Control In The Kawhi Leonard Saga
Kawhi Leonards path back to Toronto is becoming a bigger reminder of just how complicated his departure from the Clippers really was. The Raptors officially completed the trade only after the league took time to sort through the Clippers salary-cap situation, and the deal has already reopened interest in one of the more unusual star exits in recent NBA memory.
Leonard, for his part, has started talking more about the basketball side of the move, saying his focus is on learning the team and settling back into a veteran role. For Toronto, it is a familiar and welcome storyline, but it also leaves plenty of the larger Clippers questions hanging in the background, especially with the leagues investigation still shaping how this chapter gets remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhis Raptors Return Creates One Big Question For Darkos Offense
Kawhi Leonards return gives Toronto a very different kind of offensive anchor, and Darko Rajakovic is already sorting through how that changes the Raptors flow. The head coach has pointed to Leonards offensive gravity as the obvious draw, the kind of presence that can bend defenses and open cleaner looks for everyone else, while still allowing the group to keep its pace and transition identity when he is not on the floor.
Rajakovic also made clear this is not an instant plug-and-play situation, even with Leonard back in familiar territory. He is still working his way into the roster and into the environment around him, and the early task for Toronto is figuring out how to blend a superstars shot-making with the rhythm the team has been building, all while keeping enough flexibility in the rotation to let the fit settle in naturally. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Murray-Boyles Could Decide How Far The Raptors Really Go
Collin Murray-Boyles has already given the Raptors a useful glimpse of why they were intrigued by him in the first place. As a rookie, he showed the kind of defensive versatility Toronto has long valued, while also flashing enough offensive promise to suggest there is more to come. The bigger question now is how quickly that two-way profile can grow into something the Raptors can count on when the games start to matter most.
This summer, the early signs around his development have been encouraging, and Darko Rajakovic has pointed to both Murray-Boyles work ethic and the importance of letting his game expand at a measured pace. Toronto does not need him to be finished today, but it does need progress in the right places if he is going to become the sort of contributor who changes the ceiling of the roster. For a team trying to climb in the East, his next step may end up telling the story of how far this group can really go. [Read more 🡒]