Winners, Losers from Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto Raptors

There are some NBA trades that, if you had brought the idea up six months earlier, it would have gotten you laughed out of the room.

Trade ideas like Kawhi Leonard returning to Toronto. If someone had said that to you at your work Christmas party last year, you would have said “sure, buddy” as you slowly started to back away. Yet here we are. Kawhi Leonard is returning to Toronto in a blockbuster trade that sends an All-NBA wing back to the place he last won a ring.

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Who were the winners and losers in the Leonard trade? Actually, I’m not sure there were any losers — not everyone is a winner, and there is some “meh,” but trying to find a real loser was a stretch. Let’s break it all down, and we’ll start with a reminder of what this trade entails.

Toronto receives: Kawhi Leonard
The LA Clippers receive: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, two second-rounder picks (2030 and 2033).

Winner: Kawhi Leonard

More than staying home in Southern California, what Kawhi Leonard really wanted was to get paid. The Los Angeles Clippers would not give the 35-year-old with a lengthy injury history the extension he wanted. Part of that was the Clippers were looking to pivot to a younger team, James Harden and Ivica Zubac were traded at the deadline. So if Leonard wanted to stay with the Clippers, he was going to do it on their terms. The sides were well apart.

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Leonard went out and found someone who wanted to pay him. The Raptors and Leonard will work out a two-year contract extension, but at a number he likes a lot more than what the Clippers offered.

Toronto also is somewhere he can compete at a high level — if he stays healthy and everything goes right.

* = Leonard is healthy.

On paper, there’s a lot to like about the Raptors’ roll of the dice on Leonard.

Defensively, pairing Leonard and Scottie Barnes gives the Raptors two perimeter players who can match up with nearly anyone in the league. On offense, the Raptors struggled with consistent shot creation last season, especially in the halfcourt, which was particularly evident when they…

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Publish date : 2026-07-01 07:20:00

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