The Toronto Raptors Caught a Break When Kawhi Leonard Left in 2019

After leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship in 2019, Kawhi Leonard quickly became one of the most sought-after free agents in recent NBA history. Leonard was coming off one of the greatest postseason runs we’ve ever seen, and it felt like almost every team in the NBA was willing to do whatever it took to land him.

Well, it appears one team was willing to meet those demands and then some, as over the past week, Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers found themselves in some hot water after journalist Pablo Torre reported that the team used a tree-planting company called Aspiration (which team owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million into) to sign Leonard to an endorsement contract worth $28 million for what was essentially a “no-show” job. Torre and others have speculated this was done to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap, allowing Leonard to maximize his earnings. While I won’t get into the finer details of that investigation, the report only solidified my stance on something I’ve thought about for years.

The Toronto Raptors were better off letting Leonard leave in 2019.

I know this may not be something Raptor fans agree with because they believe they would have had a very good shot at repeating in 2020 by running it back with Leonard, but I'm here to tell you that simply would not have happened. It’s been reported on several occasions that Toronto was getting ready to make a similar trade to the one that the Clippers made to trade for Paul George, which landed them Leonard. And we’ve all seen how completely hamstrung the Clippers became because of it. In my opinion, that trade would have set the Raptors back years.

I also just believe this recent story just proves that some athletes might just be more of a headache than they are worth, especially when you never know if they are going to play every night. Sure, when Kawhi is on the court, he is still arguably a top 7-10 player in the league, but his Clippers tenure has been the model of inconsistency. Like I said, on the court, he’s still dominant, but the problem is he’s rarely on the court. Injuries have plagued his career since, and as Pablo Torre’s recent investigation into Leonard’s career highlighted, Kawhi has become one of the most unpredictable superstars in the league. His availability or even commitment to the game appears to be always in question, and for any franchise looking to build a championship contender around him, everything that surrounds him just seems brutal.

And it’s not as if Kawhi makes up for it with leadership. He’s not a culture-setter or a vocal locker-room presence who can anchor a team even when sidelined. His value begins and ends with his ability to play. For the Clippers, that has meant paying max-level money for half-seasons throughout most of his time in Los Angeles.

Toronto squeezed every ounce of value out of Leonard’s one year in Canada. They shed DeMar DeRozan’s contract, landed the better player, and cashed in immediately with a championship. That one year was perfect. Lightning in a bottle, and he will forever be embraced by the city of Toronto and the country of Canada because he was the man who brought "Larry OB" north of the border for the very first time.

The Raptors didn't lose Kawhi Leonard. They made the most of him. And it's evident from his time with the Clippers and everything that has happened since he left that Toronto was better off with him leaving.