Appearing on TSN earlier this week (YouTube link), ESPN’s Shams Charania discussed the blockbuster trade that finally sent Kawhi Leonard back to the Raptors on Monday after it was initially agreed to on June 30.
When asked whether the Clippers and Raptors considered altering the original terms of the deal after Los Angeles was forced to forfeit five first-round picks as part of the team’s punishment from the NBA for circumventing the salary cap to pay Leonard through “no-show” endorsement deals, Charania said, “No, that never occurred.”
“It was always going to be this trade. … I never got a sense that either side not only wavered in that but wavered overall on the deal,” Charania said. “Within the first several hours of the league’s punishment, the Raptors and Clippers did speak, both showed an interest and intent to move forward with the deal as negotiated.”
The Clippers will add several draft assets — two first-round picks, a swap, and two second rounders — from the Raptors as well as Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, who have been training alongside the Clips throughout the offseason, Charania noted.
As for Leonard, Charania referred to the decision to seek a trade back to Toronto as a “pure legacy play” for the 35-year-old star, who led the team to its first and only NBA title in 2019. The two-time Finals MVP is said to be in “advanced” discussions with the Raptors about a contract extension.
“Him going back to Toronto, this is a pure legacy play for Kawhi,” Charania said. “There were teams — (the Pistons, Timberwolves), 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. And so this is a legacy play for Kawhi Leonard, there’s no doubt about it.”
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Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca has also heard from sources that the Clippers and Raptors never gave “real consideration” to potentially altering the trade, writing that doing so would would have been “bad form.” Both teams were motivated (for very different reasons) to complete the deal in its original form and neither had the “leverage to renegotiate,” Lewenberg adds.
In the latest episode of the team’s in-house “Open Gym” show, Leonard spoke to head coach Darko Rajakovic about star forward Scottie Barnes and indicated he was willing to do whatever it took to help the Raptors win. “If it’s Scottie’s team, it’s his team,” Leonard told Rajakovic. “I want to do whatever it takes to help you guys.” Leonard also expressed optimism about Toronto’s odds of having a strong season and was complimentary of 2025 lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “I think we’ve got a great chance,” Leonard said. “This group played great last year. I watched them a lot. … You’ve got Scottie Barnes, (he) showed his talents over the past two, three years. He’s become an All-Star. He’s going to be a problem this next coming year. I love the young guy (Collin Murray-Boyles). He brings a lot of energy to the team, shows relentlessness on the court, not scared of nobody.”
Leonard should be a substantial upgrade over Ingram in virtually every aspect of offense with the possible exception of driving, which he doesn’t do frequently, according to Samson Folk of Raptors Republic. Leonard is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game and is extremely efficient not only in terms of requiring relatively few touches for a top offensive option but also in the varied manner in which he scores (pull-ups, pick-and-rolls, post-ups, transition), Folk writes.
Courtney Charles, a longtime member of the basketball operations department in both coaching and front office roles, is parting ways with the Raptors after more than two decades with the organization, Lewenberg tweets. Lewenberg says Charles has been a “crucial behind-the-scenes culture setter” for Toronto.