Kawhi Leonard Signs Two-Year Extension with Raptors
Kawhi Leonard is officially a Raptor again. This time, the commitment runs deeper than a one-year rental and a fairy-tale title run.
Toronto has locked in the 33-year-old star on a two-year, $115 million extension that includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. It’s a massive number, but not quite the maximum: as Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy reported, the deal comes in roughly $11 million below what Leonard could have earned over those two years.
For a franchise walking the tightrope between contention and cap flexibility, that gap matters. Even after absorbing Leonard’s new money, the Raptors sit about $1 million under the first tax apron and $13 million below the second. They’ve pushed hard, but not all the way to the financial edge.
The Cost of a Star
Leonard didn’t arrive quietly.
Toronto pried him loose from the Los Angeles Clippers in one of the most dramatic trades of the off-season, a blockbuster that signaled a hard pivot toward star power. Heading to L.A. were forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and two second-rounders.
That is the kind of package teams usually spend years debating before finally talking themselves out of it. The Raptors went the other way. They doubled down on a player they know can tilt a playoff series almost single-handedly when healthy.
The trade, though, unfolded under a cloud.
An NBA investigation into alleged salary-cap circumvention followed Leonard from Los Angeles. The league probed claims the Clippers had funneled him extra money through endorsement deals arranged to skirt the cap. On Sept. 2, the hammer came down: Leonard was fined $700,000.
The organization paid a far steeper price.
The Clippers were stripped of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 and hit with a $30 million fine. Owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker received one-year suspensions, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was banned for six months.
Toronto inherits the player, not the punishment. But the scale of the sanctions underscores exactly how far the Clippers went to keep Leonard — and how far the Raptors were willing to go to get him.
Still Elite, Still a Question
Leonard arrives in Canada coming off one of the most complete seasons of his career.
He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals, while shooting 50.5 per cent from the field and 38.7 per cent from three. Those are MVP-level numbers, delivered with the same methodical ruthlessness that has defined his game for a decade.
The more important number for Toronto might be this one: 65. That’s how many games Leonard played last season, just the second time he has reached that mark since 2016-17.
For a seven-time All-Star with a 15-year career carved up by injuries, availability has always been the catch. He played only nine games in 2017-18 before his first move to Toronto. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL. Every contract with Leonard comes with an unspoken clause: he changes your ceiling, but he also tests your nerve.
The Raptors know this better than anyone.
In 2018-19, his first stint with the franchise, Leonard suited up for only 60 regular-season games. It didn’t matter when it counted. He averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals, anchoring both ends of the floor and dragging Toronto to its first and only NBA championship.
That run rewrote the club’s history and permanently altered its expectations. This deal suggests the organization believes there is at least one more deep run left in him.
A Familiar Bet, Higher Stakes
Leonard will be 35 by the end of this extension if he exercises the player option. For most players, that’s the downslope. For him, it might be the last window where he can still be the best player on a contender.
Toronto has paid for that possibility with draft capital, with cap room, with time. The roster around him will need to evolve quickly to justify the investment, but the Raptors have made their choice clear.
They have seen what Kawhi Leonard can do in their colours.
Now they’re betting he can do it again — this time with far more on the line, and far less margin for error.
