Seeing Kawhi Leonard in a Raptors jersey again is naturally going to bring back memories of 2019. That season, there was no question who Toronto’s best player was. When a possession broke down or a playoff game tightened up, the answer was usually simple: get Kawhi the ball and let him figure it out.
Seven years later, Leonard is back, but Toronto shouldn’t be asking him to recreate 2019 every night. He’s 35 years old and coming off a career-high 27.9 points per game, so the ability to take over clearly
hasn’t disappeared. The difference is that these Raptors already have players who need the opportunity to carry them through the regular season. If this reunion is going to work, Leonard doesn’t need to be Toronto’s best player in October, January or March. He needs to be that player when Toronto has nowhere else to turn.
Scottie still needs to be “the guy”
This has become Scottie Barnes’ team, and adding Leonard shouldn’t change that. Barnes averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season while Toronto won 46 games and pushed Cleveland to seven games in the first round. More importantly, he has spent the last few seasons growing into the responsibility that comes with being a franchise player. Taking that responsibility away now would make little sense.
Leonard actually gives Toronto a chance to keep pushing Barnes in the other direction. There will be nights Kawhi rests, nights when he doesn’t have it offensively and nights when Barnes simply has the better matchup. Toronto should want Scottie attacking those moments instead of immediately looking toward Leonard.
“I can play off anybody. I can catch and shoot. I’ve played with limited shots before,” Leonard said at Media Day when discussing playing alongside Barnes.
That might be one of the most important things Kawhi said all day. Barnes doesn’t have to step aside because Kawhi Leonard walked through the door. He gets to play alongside him, learn from him and continue figuring out how to be the guy Toronto leans on.
Kawhi makes everyone’s job easier
There is also a difference between being the best player every night and being the player every opponent is worried about most. Leonard doesn’t have to score 30 points to change how a defence approaches Toronto. His presence alone should create opportunities for Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
That is what makes this version of the Raptors interesting. Toronto isn’t dropping Leonard onto a team with nothing around him. The Raptors won 46 games last season, defended at a high level and found ways to survive a playoff series long enough to force a Game 7. Now they’re adding a player who averaged 27.9 points while earning All-NBA Second Team honours last season.
Some nights Kawhi might lead the team in scoring. Other nights it could be Barnes, Barrett or Quickley. That shouldn’t be viewed as Kawhi doing less. It should be viewed as Toronto having the luxury of not asking a 35-year-old superstar to solve every problem.
Let Barnes grow. Let Quickley shoot. Let Barrett attack. Let the young guys carry some weight.
Be the best player when it matters
Of course, there is a reason Toronto brought Leonard back. Regular-season balance sounds great until a playoff defence takes away your first option, the game slows down and there are eight seconds left on the shot clock. That’s where Leonard changes the ceiling of this team.
Toronto already learned this lesson once. During the 2018-19 championship season, Leonard played 60 regular-season games and the Raptors still finished 58-24. They didn’t need the best version of him every night because the goal was having that version available in May and June.
The circumstances are different now, but the idea shouldn’t be.
Let the Raptors around Kawhi carry their share of the load throughout the season. Let Barnes continue becoming the face of the franchise. And when a playoff game gets ugly, the offense stalls and Toronto desperately needs one basket?
That’s when you ask Kawhi Leonard to be the best player on the floor.
