The Raptors aren’t wasting any time with Kawhi Leonard.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, Toronto and Leonard are already in “advanced” talks on a contract extension, a strong sign the team intends to make this more than a short-term reunion.
That outcome had been expected for a while. Once Leonard was officially dealt to Toronto, the next step was always going to be a new contract, and a report in the first week of July said extension discussions were close after Leonard brought in a new agent, Harrison Gaines.
The trade itself was briefly thrown into limbo a few days later while the league investigated whether the Clippers had skirted the salary cap by funneling money to Leonard through no-show endorsement deals. The NBA’s findings came earlier this month. The Clippers were punished for cap circumvention violations, but Leonard was not suspended and his contract was not voided, clearing the way for Toronto to complete the deal on Monday.
That matters for the Raptors, who paid a steep price to get him, including two unprotected first-round picks. After giving up that kind of package, Toronto clearly does not want Leonard to be a one-season stopover.
The extension may not be a simple max on the dot, though. Leonard’s current maximum-salary extension is limited by extend-and-trade rules and the Over-38 rule, but he can still sign for as much as roughly $124MM over two years. His current deal runs through 2026/27, when he’ll make $50.3MM.
There was also a reason Leonard wanted out of Los Angeles in the first place. The Clippers’ reluctance to offer the kind of extension he was looking for was said to be one factor behind his push to be moved this offseason.
For Toronto, this is a very different kind of Kawhi story than the one fans remember from 2018/19. He came from San Antonio before that season, carried the Raptors to the first championship in franchise history, then left for the Clippers as a free agent in the summer of 2019.
Now he’s back, and Leonard explained on the latest episode of the team’s in-house “Open Gym” show why Toronto was the place he wanted to return to.
“I’m not really championship chasing. … I didn’t want to put on a thousand jerseys,” Leonard said.
“This city took a liking to my family, and I took a liking to this city. I really liked it.
My son was born here, and he’s been asking me forever when he’s going to come back. Now he’s back, and he’s able to see it rather than me tell him the great stories that happened.
“… This city always gave me love and showed support from everybody. I’m happy that they love what I did here.
I gave this city everything. I was coming in that year (2018/19) injured, and I just gave them my all.
Hopefully they embrace me back and (I) give them all again, and we can make something special happen once again.”
In Other News...
Raptors Just Lost Two Sensible Bench Fits They Could've Used
The Raptors were at least kicking the tires on a couple of sensible bench additions, and now both are headed elsewhere. John Konchar and Drew Eubanks have landed with the Knicks, removing two veteran depth options from Torontos list as the team continues sorting through roster spots and looking for reliable pieces at the back end of the rotation.
Konchar gives New York a one-year commitment, while Eubanks is joining on a camp deal, and both would have fit obvious needs for Toronto. Konchar had been on the Raptors radar, and Eubanks had been viewed as a possible third-string center, the kind of low-drama insurance a team can use over the long season. Instead, theyll be fighting for places with the defending NBA champions, leaving Toronto to keep searching for similarly practical fits. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Leonard's Return Puts One Huge Raptors Question Front And Center
Kawhi Leonards return gives Toronto a rare dose of star power and instantly resets the conversation around where this franchise is headed. The move brings back a player whose previous run with the Raptors still carries real weight in the teams history, but this version of the fit is less about nostalgia and more about how Leonard blends into the structure Darko Rajakovic is building.
The bigger question now is not whether Leonard can matter, but how fully he is willing to buy into what the Raptors have already established. His choice points toward a legacy-driven decision, and it also suggests Toronto can sell more than just basketball minutes when it comes to keeping a player of his stature engaged. What remains to be seen is how that commitment will look once the on-court grind starts and the expectations around him begin to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Former Raptors Wing Ochai Agbaji Just Got Another NBA Chance
Ochai Agbaji is getting another shot to stick in the NBA after landing with the New York Knicks on an Exhibit 9 contract. For Raptors fans, he is still a familiar name from the wing depth Toronto once had in hand before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, and now he is heading into a situation where every practice rep matters.
The move gives Agbaji a chance to join training camp and fight for a roster spot, but he is hardly alone in that chase. New York is filling out its camp group with several Exhibit 9 signings while carrying just two open roster spots, so the competition around him is already crowded and the margin for error is thin. [Read more 🡒]