Could this offseason get any better?
In what’s becoming a trend over the last couple of weeks, yet another NBA superstar now finds himself headed to a new team via blockbuster trade. The best part? This one marks a reunion between Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors.
The Los Angeles Clippers got a haul in return for the star, while the Raptors and their fanbase are surely enthused to have the 2019 Finals MVP back with the franchise he won a title with. Here are the full trade details with immediate reactions and trade grades for both sides.
Kawhi Leonard trade details, team grades
Tuesday brought the official start of the new league year in the NBA, opening the door to free agency. Roster movement was expected, but after days of smoke surrounding negotiations, the Clippers and Raptors stole the headlines via the trade market. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Kawhi Leonard is on his way back to Canada.
Per the latest reporting, here’s how the deal shakes out.
Raptors receive:
- Kawhi Leonard
Clippers receive:
- Brandon Ingram
- Gradey Dick
- Two future first-round picks
- One future first-round pick swap
- Two future second-round picks
This is a massive shakeup for both teams which should have some major implications looking ahead to the direction of both franchises. Here’s the logic for each side.
Toronto Raptors
For the Raptors, this trade is fascinating for multiple reasons. It’s tough to start anywhere but with the history between Leonard and the franchise. Just before the 2018-19 season, the forward was traded from the San Antonio Spurs to Toronto in exchange for a franchise icon in DeMar DeRozan, plus other pieces. It was an abrupt deal that reportedly may have left Leonard unsatisfied, but he played out that campaign and instantly cemented a place in Raptors history. He put forth one of the best seasons of his career and led the team to its first-ever championship, winning Finals MVP in the process. Despite efforts to retain his services, the star forward departed after just one season there and left in free agency for Los Angeles.
Now, it appears that Leonard may harbor some warm feelings for Toronto after all. The reporting surrounding a potential move from the Clippers over the last couple of weeks suggested that he’d only desire a trade to a team he would ink an extension with. Following that, NBA insider Chris Haynes broke news that the seven-time All-Star and the Raptors are working to hammer out a two-year extension to keep him in the north through the 2028-29 campaign. That’s a particularly crucial piece of information in grading this deal.
There’s no doubt that Toronto paid a hefty price for Leonard. Brandon Ingram may have his flaws, but he’s a very productive player and played a key role in the Raptors’ push to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and a playoff appearance last season. Gradey Dick saw his role decrease significantly last year, but the young wing has shown promise as a rotational piece. Of course, there are the two future first-round picks and swap as well as the pair of seconds.
However, there’s also no doubt that the Raptors are much better today than they were yesterday. For the price they paid, they now get three years of a superstar coming off one of the best seasons of his storied career. Leonard was a dark-horse candidate for MVP last year with a career-high 27.9 points per game on an excellent shooting split of 50.5%/38.7%/89.2%, good for a 62.9% TS%. He produced 3.6 assists per outing, also pitching in significantly on defense with 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 combined stocks. The 6-foot-6 forward instantly steps in as the new top dog and alpha scorer in the starting five, also allowing Scottie Barnes and other pieces to play more of a supporting role. Having moved to +2500 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2027 NBA Finals, Toronto could quickly become a major player to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Raptors trade grade: A
Los Angeles Clippers
It’s never easy to part with a superstar by any means. It’s even more difficult to separate from a player of Leonard’s caliber, especially when coming off a season like his 2025-26 campaign. He was one of the best players in the NBA and largely stayed very healthy by his own standards, playing 65 games and near-singlehandedly keeping the Clippers within striking distance of the Play-In Tournament. While the team ultimately fell short and didn’t make it into the NBA Playoffs, it was an even more admirable performance given the other shakeup to the roster as Los Angeles traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac away at the deadline.
Those prior deals were the first signs of a looming retool, if not an outright reset for the Clips. There’s certainly a reason that Leonard’s name had come up in trade talks over the last calendar year, and given his impending unrestricted free agency (prior to potentially extending with Toronto), it makes sense that the franchise would now pull the trigger to get value back for him before it’s too late.
Look at it this way. Leonard’s health hasn’t always been reliable and he just celebrated his 35th birthday on June 29. He could have potentially left in free agency next summer; plus he reportedly didn’t want a trade if he wasn’t willing to ink an extension with a new team. That’s not even mentioning the still-pending league investigation into alleged ties to the Aspiration scandal. There are many variables with Leonard, and realistically, Los Angeles didn’t have all that much leverage.
Given the context, the Clippers seem to have done pretty well for themselves here. They add more future first-round picks to a war chest that’s largely barren due to previous deals. Ingram himself could play a major role for this new-look roster, especially if the franchise intends to keep trying to compete. With the recent changes to the Draft Lottery, perhaps that’s the best option for the moment. Regardless, Los Angeles could always work to flip Ingram for more assets or a younger player sometime down the line. Dick isn’t a standout young talent, but he’s shown flashes of promise in the past with 14.4 points per game in a significant role for the Raptors two years ago.
Is there a world where the Clippers could’ve secured a little more value? Maybe, but they did the best with what they were given. This is a win-win deal for both sides.
