As recently confirmed, Kawhi Leonard has been traded to the Toronto Raptors for the second time in his career. In return, the Los Angeles Clippers will receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-round picks.
The last time Leonard graced a Raptors jersey, he helped the organization lift its first NBA Championship in franchise history. While this wild NBA offseason has made the Eastern Conference tougher, this trade could place Toronto back into the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Though the Raptors had a good regular season, they fell flat in the first round of the playoffs, where they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. While their overall team defense struggled to stop Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, the impact of Ingram’s collapse did them no favors.
Ingram had a solid regular season, averaging 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, and was expected to be a key contributor to Toronto’s playoff run. But the comments he made after a 126-113 Game 1 loss may have launched his expectations far out of reach.
After Game 1, Ingram expressed his displeasure with the way the Raptors coaching staff used him on offense.
“Well, coach wanted to use me as a screener,” said Ingram. “He noticed that my man wasn’t coming off me, so he wanted me outside of the action and being a receiver. At the end of the day, me shooting nine shots is not going to win us basketball games”.
Following these comments, Ingram would shoot 3 of 15 in Game 2, 5 of 9 in Game 3, and 6 of 23 in Game 4. He averaged 12 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the series.
Ingram was a completely different player in the playoffs, becoming a negative asset for Toronto.
His Net On rating went from +1.4 to -5.4, his Offensive Rating went from +0.3 to -1.4, and his Defensive Rating went from +1.1 to -4.0. He was the only Raptors player to have full negative ratings on both offense and defense.
This is why the Raptors went all out to get Kawhi to return to Toronto.
Leonard has been a great player in the NBA for years, but his performance last season was the best basketball of his career. He averaged a career-high in points with 27.9 with a true shooting of 63.2%, eighth-best amongst small forwards last year.
He finished with a DPM (daily plus-minus) of 5.9, third-best in the NBA, only trailing Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. He was also the Clippers’ most productive player by a wide margin as the team’s Net Rating was +12.7 when he was on the court vs off the court.
Leonard’s success doesn’t stop in the regular season. The two-time NBA Finals MVP hasn’t had a DMP below 3.0 in the playoffs since 2015.
With Kawhi’s ability to perform at a high level in both the regular season and playoffs, getting him to replace Ingram is a major upgrade. In addition to his own individual performance, Leonard may also enhance Scottie Barnes and the Raptors’ offense.
While taking a look at the Raptors roster last season, it can be quickly determined that they didn’t have enough perimeter scorers. This is largely due to the fact that two of their best players, R.J. Barrett and Barnes, are paint slashers with limited shooting ability.
36.6% of Toronto’s total shot attempts were three-pointers, fifth-least in the NBA, while the league average is 41.8%. On those shot attempts, they made just 35% of them.
Leonard will have an immediate impact on Toronto’s insufficient production from the three-point line. He is coming off a career-high three-point shooting season, averaging 6.8 attempts per game. His three-point field goal percentage did take a dip last season, shooting 38.7%, but he has shot over 41% from three the previous three seasons.
Though they were the eighth-best team at getting shots up at the rim, the Raptors only had a free-throw rate of 26.4, which finished just below league average. Barrett led them in free-throw attempts, with 4.9, but was inefficient, shooting 71.7%.
This is another area that Leonard could quickly improve, as he shot 6.4 free throws a game. While a career 86.3% free throw shooter, he improved his efficiency last season, netting 89.2% from the free-throw line.
Along with his shooting ability, Kawhi will help draw attention from defenders to allow the Raptors to take open shots. He led the league in gravity when in possession within the interior and finished second when having the ball on the perimeter.
By occupying the defense’s attention, Leonard’s gravity will allow Barnes to make cuts to the basket and Barrett to have cleaner perimeter looks.
Entering his 15th year in the NBA, Leonard is still playing at an elite level. Though he wasn’t able to live up to the high expectations with the Clippers and win the “Battle of LA”, he could help a growing Raptors team compete in a chaotic Eastern Conference.
The Raptors are in a position to challenge the top teams in the East. With the skill set that Leonard offers, he could improve Toronto’s offense completely and make them a greater threat.
The Raptors have already lost players to free agency, such as Sandro Mamukelashvili to the Los Angeles Lakers, so they already have players that need to be replaced. Additionally, they may have to think about the future of Leonard.
As reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Leonard could be retiring soon in Toronto. With just one year remaining on his contract, Kawhi could be looking to win a second NBA Championship with the Raptors, then call it a career.
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