The Toronto Raptors may not be done with the 2019 championship nostalgia tour just yet.
Kawhi Leonard is already back in the conversation, but Norman Powell is the other former Raptor who suddenly makes a lot of sense as a possible reunion target. And unlike some of the bigger names from that title team, Powell still has plenty left to offer.
At 33 and heading into his 12th NBA season, Powell is coming off his first All-Star selection, which came last year with the Miami Heat. His stay in Miami was brief, though, and this summer he moved on to the Chicago Bulls on a two-year, $45 million deal. Even after a slight dip in efficiency with the Heat - his three-point percentage fell to 38.0% - Powell remains the kind of wing teams want: a proven floor spacer, a veteran scorer and a steady locker-room presence.
That’s why the Bulls could become part of a bigger conversation later on. If Chicago decides to shop him at the trade deadline, his contract should be easy enough to move, and there would be no shortage of teams checking in. Toronto ought to be one of them.
A Powell return would fit the Raptors in a way that feels more practical than purely sentimental. Toronto dealt him to Portland at the 2021 trade deadline in the move that brought back Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
At the time, it was easy to see the appeal of Trent as a young piece. But looking back, the Raptors’ need for reliable shooting makes Powell’s departure feel like one of those decisions that still lingers.
Powell himself has done nothing to cool the idea. During a recent stream with social media personality N3on, he said Toronto is “hands down” his favorite city to play for and the “best city in the NBA.”
He was also asked whether he would consider retiring in Toronto, and his answer was simple: “I think I would,”
That doesn’t sound like someone who’s closed the door on a second stint. It sounds like a player who’d welcome one.
And there’s a basketball case here, not just a nostalgia one. The Raptors are still sorting through what to do with RJ Barrett, and Powell offers something cleaner at that spot: more proven volume from deep and a better fit for a team that wants more spacing. If Toronto wanted, it could explore using Barrett’s contract to bring Powell back, then decide whether to start Powell at shooting guard or keep Ja’Kobe Walter in that role and use Powell as a spark off the bench.
There is, of course, a timing issue. Powell can’t be moved until December 15 after signing with Chicago this summer. But that’s more of a delay than a roadblock.
With the Kawhi Leonard extension potentially tightening things financially later on, Toronto already has decisions to make. Powell should be one of the names on the board.
In Other News...
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What makes the decision sting for rival suitors is how close other teams were to landing him. Detroit and Minnesota both came prepared to lock Leonard into multi-year extensions, but he passed on those offers in favor of a return to a familiar setting and a chance to repair and reinforce his legacy. For the Raptors, it closes another chapter with a player who already delivered a title run once, even as the broader ripple effects of his choice will be felt well beyond Toronto. [Read more 🡒]
Why Kawhi Leonard Avoided The NBA's Harshest Clippers Punishment
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According to Shams Charania, that legal and labor backdrop mattered because the NBA needed especially strong evidence before it could go after Leonard with something more severe. By the time the punishments were announced, he was already with the Raptors after being traded from Los Angeles, leaving Toronto fans to watch a story that was bigger than one player and still shaped by how far the league could go. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Fans Should Notice What This Pascal Siakam Ranking Really Says
Pascal Siakam landing eighth on HoopsHypes latest power forward list is the kind of ranking that looks tidy on paper and undersells the player behind it. Even after leaving Toronto, he still carries the same calling card that made him such a tough evaluation for opponents and a prized piece for the Raptors: versatility, durability and the ability to affect a game on both ends without needing everything run through him.
What stands out is how much of Siakams value comes from proof rather than projection. Plenty of bigs in front of him can point to upside or isolated talent, but Siakam has already shown he can handle the pressure of high-level postseason basketball and keep producing when the stakes rise. For any team that has watched him up close, the ranking says less about his ceiling than it does about how easy it is to take a proven winner for granted. [Read more 🡒]