The Raptors are about to make the kind of swing that changes everything - and maybe leaves them with nowhere to go when the season starts to tilt.
Toronto’s expected Kawhi Leonard deal has been sitting in limbo for a month and some change, but the bigger issue isn’t the delay. It’s what comes after.
Once the trade is official, the roster the Raptors run out on opening night could look awfully similar to the one they’re still working with after game 82. In a league where teams are constantly reshaping themselves, that’s a brutal place to be if you ever want to add help on the fly.
That problem starts with the money. Next season, Toronto is set to pay Leonard $50+ million, Scottie Barnes $41+ million, Immanuel Quickley $32.5 million, RJ Barrett $29+ million, and Jakob Poeltl $19.5 million.
After that, the salary drop-off is steep. The next biggest numbers belong to sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles at around $6.5 million and 2026 first-round pick Allen Graves at around $4.4 million.
And that’s where the trap is hiding in plain sight.
If Toronto gets to the middle of the season and decides it wants a bench upgrade - say, a veteran scorer to give the group another jolt - the path to doing that looks almost nonexistent. The cap sheet is too top-heavy, and the players with salaries that can actually be matched are exactly the ones the Raptors probably won’t want to move.
There is a workaround, at least in theory. Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter together make around $6.2 million, so Toronto could use them in a deal.
But that comes with its own problem: moving two useful bench pieces and future assets just to bring back someone making $6.2 million doesn’t really change the team’s ceiling. It may even hurt the long-term picture.
None of that means Toronto is doomed before the season even begins, or before the Leonard trade is made official. But the contrast with other teams around the East is hard to ignore.
The 76ers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Hawks may all have more room to maneuver if they need to make a deadline move. Toronto, by comparison, could be stuck watching from the sidelines.
That matters even more because the Eastern Conference is expected to be tight. If Leonard misses time or gets suspended, the Raptors won’t have much room to patch the roster and keep rolling.
And when you’re entering year one of a contention push with a 35-year-old star, that lack of flexibility isn’t just inconvenient. It’s dangerous.
In Other News...
Raptors Face A Brutal Kawhi Reality With No Easy Fallback
With training camp approaching, the Raptors are still left weighing what happens if the biggest swing on their radar never comes together. ESPNs Brian Windhorst and Anthony Slater recently framed the situation as more than a simple wait-and-see exercise, noting that Toronto has to think hard about contingency planning while the possibility of landing Kawhi Leonard remains uncertain.
The challenge is obvious: there are other names the Raptors have looked at, but none bring the same kind of championship upside that Leonard does. That is what makes this stretch so delicate for Toronto, because a fallback option can help stabilize the roster, but it may not change the teams long-term ceiling in the same way. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]