At last, Kawhi Leonard is officially back with the Raptors after the long-awaited trade with the Clippers was completed on Monday. The New York Knicks have sat back and watched other teams in the East, like Toronto, make moves that they hope will dethrone the defending champions.
It was already costly for the Raptors to get Leonard, sending the Clippers a package that included two unprotected first-round picks, and it will ring even truer when they sign him to an extension. As Marc Stein of The Stein Line wrote on Monday, it's a "safe bet" that the wait for that will be much shorter (subscription required) than it took for the trade to happen.
Leonard is eligible to sign a two-year extension worth $126 million (he'll already make $50.3 million this season), running through 2028-29. That's quite an investment in a player who just turned 35 and has the injury history he does.
Toronto felt like it needed to keep up with the rest of the conference that is currently ruled by New York, and will be until further notice.
Raptors are risking their future with Kawhi Leonard trade
The Knicks are the league's gold standard. Leon Rose helped pull New York out of the trenches when he took over as team president in March 2020, transforming the organization from the butt of NBA jokes to champions.
The Raptors want to keep the parity trend going, as there have been eight different champions in the past eight years. They think they can recreate the magical season they shared with Kawhi in 2019, when they beat the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Adding Leonard back into the mix gives Toronto a good shot at doing just that, but his health will determine how far the Raptors can go. Clearly, any concerns about his availability didn't keep them from cashing in on his services, which shows how much they believe in Kawhi.
Though New York has a good shot at doing what hasn't been done since Golden State in 2018 and repeating as champions, the path has only grown more challenging, with Toronto's trade for Leonard serving as the latest proof. It just may not work out the way the Raptors hoped, but that's a problem their future selves will deal with if it arises.
For now, Toronto will enjoy returning to being regarded as one of the league's top teams, putting itself in the position to go head-to-head with New York.
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