Kawhi Leonard will be a part of Toronto Raptors history forever.
Which is crazy to say due to Leonard only spending one season in Toronto, but it resulted in a championship.
The Raptors front office decided to make a huge swing to trade for the wing in 2019, resulting in shipping out beloved Raptor DeMar DeRozan.
However, this would ultimately prove to be the right move as the 6’7″ forward averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent shooting from three-point range.
Toronto would finish second in the Eastern Conference with a 58-24 record, going on to beat the dynasty Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Taking a chance on a one-year rental, like Leonard, is usually a risk that teams are not willing to make. But, if there is a championship window, tough decisions come with it.
While winning a championship would prompt players to stick around, Leonard was not a guarantee. Ultimately, it boiled down to the Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard would decide to depart from Canada to L.A. to be with the Clippers. When asked about his decision, the forward said that he wanted to build a legacy for himself, via Sam Schube of GQ Sports:
“I just wanted to go to a franchise where I could try to help build a legacy.”
Now, five years later, things have not panned out. The Clippers would go all in to bring in Paul George and Leonard with the hopes of winning a champion.
That duo would never make a Finals appearance as the furthest they got was to the Western Conference Finals. Leonard was sidelined due to injury during this time.
George is now with the Philadelphia 76ers and Leonard is sidelined indefinitely with inflammation in his right knee. It’s looking like the Raptors got the last healthy stint of Leonard.
Former Raptor Kawhi Leonard told Nick Nurse he wanted to win title with Toronto
When the blockbuster trade went down in 2018, many were skeptical that Kawhi Leonard would even want to play for the Toronto Raptors. However, he told former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse that he wanted to win a championship in Toronto.
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