The Raptors can chase Kawhi Leonard all they want, but Brian Windhorst says the hard truth is staring them right in the face: there may not be a real fallback if this one slips away.
On a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, Windhorst and ESPN colleague Anthony Slater talked through what Toronto has to do if the Leonard deal doesn’t get done. Slater said the day before training camp is the deadline he expects the Raptors front office to be working toward for the trade to become official. Windhorst’s bigger point was simpler: Toronto can’t afford to treat Leonard as the only answer.
That’s where the problem starts. Leonard is the kind of swing that changes a team’s ceiling completely. Without him, the Raptors are looking at a very different picture, and Windhorst made it clear that there isn’t another player sitting out there who can offer that same kind of impact.
He also pointed out how awkward it would be to bring both Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick back into the mix if the Leonard pursuit goes sideways. Toronto can reshuffle pieces, sure, but the league doesn’t have an obvious star or near-star available who can lift both the floor and the ceiling in a major way.
Slater floated Domantas Sabonis as one name worth watching, tying it back to his reporting from the trade deadline. He said the Raptors and Sacramento Kings were close to a Sabonis deal at the 2026 trade deadline, with RJ Barrett at the center of the talks. That deal reportedly fell apart because the Kings didn’t want to absorb the extra financial hit that came with Jakob Poeltl.
If Toronto circles back to Sabonis, the money side is workable. Ingram and Dick would make matching salary straightforward enough. The real question is what the basketball fit looks like and how far that roster can actually go.
A Sabonis route would leave Poeltl and his contract on the books if Ingram is included, which would give Toronto a better frontcourt but also a very expensive one. A starting five of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Sabonis is interesting on size alone, but it’s still a steep step down from anything built around Leonard.
And in a conference that has improved the way the Eastern Conference has, that kind of roster probably tops out as a sixth- or seventh-seed team. That’s a tough sell after the level of buzz this group once carried.
Tyler Herro and Michael Porter Jr. are two more names Toronto could consider from a salary standpoint if Leonard falls through and the team needs another destination for Ingram. Even then, the upgrade from the 2025-26 Raptors to the 2026-27 version would be modest at best.
That’s the brutal takeaway from Windhorst and Slater’s conversation: the Raptors have ways to pivot, but they don’t have a true Plan B. They can change the look of the roster.
They can find another deal. What they can’t do is replace the kind of championship ceiling Leonard brings.
If this trade dies, Toronto loses more than a superstar. It loses what had looked like its best shot at a title since 2019.
In Other News...
Kawhi Leonard Could Reopen A Raptors Dream Fans Never Expected
Eight years after Toronto swung the franchise-altering deal for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the old connection is suddenly part of the conversation again. That move cost the Raptors Jakob Poeltl, DeMar DeRozan and a 2019 first-round pick, but it delivered the teams only NBA championship and left behind one of the most memorable one-year runs in franchise history. Leonards stay in Toronto was brief, but the relationship clearly never disappeared from the basketball imagination.
Now there is fresh intrigue around whether that path could somehow be reopened. Leonard has one year left on his contract, and the latest reports suggest he would only be willing to sign an extension with Toronto. The timing is even more delicate because the Raptors agreed trade with the Clippers involving Brandon Ingram and draft picks is currently paused while the league investigates alleged salary cap circumvention, leaving the door open just enough for a dream that most fans probably never expected to revisit. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Suddenly Have A Real Shot At A Veteran Wing Fit
Haywood Highsmith is back on the market after Phoenix waived the veteran forward, giving him the chance to sign with any team as a free agent. The move has naturally put a few clubs on alert, including the Raptors, who are always worth mentioning when a defensive wing becomes available and there is a chance to add another experienced body to the mix.
Highsmiths path has been a winding one, with a mid-February stop in Phoenix after Brooklyn let him go, and his appeal is tied to the sort of role he can fill rather than any long-term splash. Toronto will have to weigh the fit against health and availability after a limited finish to last season, but for a team that keeps scanning for useful wings, this is the kind of name that can linger on the list a little longer than expected. [Read more 🡒]