Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard chose to return to Canada despite trade interest from the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, and other teams willing to offer him a contract extension, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
"This is a complete legacy play for Kawhi," Charania said on TSN. "There were teams – Detroit, Minnesota, others – that had interest in trading for him, that wanted to trade for him, that wanted to give him an extension."
"But he made a decision because he had one year left on his deal to essentially weed out where he wanted to play, where he wanted to be," Charania added. "And so this is a legacy play for Kawhi Leonard. There's no doubt about it."
Toronto officially reacquired Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two future second-round picks.
The deal was initially agreed to in June but was delayed while the NBA investigated the LA Clippers for salary-cap circumvention involving Leonard.
The investigation resulted in a $30 million fine for the Clippers, the loss of five future first-round picks, and a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer, while Leonard was fined $700,000.
Leonard returns to where he won a championship
Leonard previously spent one season with Toronto after being traded from the San Antonio Spurs in 2018.
He averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists during the 2018-19 regular season before leading the Raptors through the Eastern Conference playoffs and into the NBA Finals.
Toronto defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games to win the first NBA championship in franchise history.
Leonard posted 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in the Finals to earn Finals MVP honors for the second time in his career.
Now, the 35-year-old forward is coming off one of the best individual seasons of his career, averaging a career-high 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for Los Angeles in 2025-26.