After an encouraging playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors decided they were ready for a big move—to bring in a superstar and try to contend with the top of the Eastern Conference. With other teams, like the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, making big moves this summer, it turns out the Raptors had the right instincts. They needed to make a move or risk falling behind just when Scottie Barnes is entering his mid-twenties and what promises to be his best stretch yet.
However, it was terrible timing to swing for Kawhi Leonard. On paper, Leonard is a perfect fit for what the Raptors need. He’s not a defensive liability, like many other players who are difference-makers on offense, and the kind of scorer and creator who can take the Raptors’ struggling offense to the next level whenever he’s available. He did, after all, average almost 28 points per game last season. A reunion makes sense, even if it’s a massive gamble on Leonard’s health.
It’s just horrible timing that the Raptors’ need for a Kawhi-Leonard-like superstar came while he and the Clippers are still being investigated for an alleged salary-cap circumvention. As a result, the trade is now on hold, and the Raptors have to watch other teams around them get better while they have no idea whether Leonard will be on their roster next season or not—or a true fallback option. By locking themselves into a trade that may now never go through, they missed out on opportunities to bring in another star. If this deal doesn’t go through, Bobby Webster will have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions.
The one silver lining is that reporting steadily maintains that there’s confidence on both sides that the trade will go through as planned eventually.
LeBron James’s decision to go to Philly highlighted how badly the Raptors need Kawhi Leonard
The Eastern Conference playoff race is quickly shaping up to be a bloodbath. The 76ers added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, the Heat got Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Hawks added Lu Dort, and the Pacers will get Tyrese Haliburton back from injury.
On top of that, the Knicks and Cavs kept their cores together, the Celtics should have a healthy Jayson Tatum, and the Pistons added to their supporting cast around Cade Cunningham. That’s not even mentioning the Hornets and Magic and their young cores yet.
If the Raptors don’t want to get lost and fall behind other Eastern Conference teams featuring young stars like Cunningham, Haliburton, Evan Mobley, and Tyrese Maxey, they need the Kawhi Leonard trade to happen. Without him, they won’t be able to keep up with some of these other teams, no matter how good Scottie Barnes is, and they really don’t have another option to bring in that kind of a difference-maker before the start of the season. Every other star who was rumored or expected to be available has already been traded.
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