Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors have agreed on a two-year, $115 million extension that includes a player option for a third year, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday.
The deal comes a week after Leonard's trade to Toronto was finalized, following the completion of the NBA's investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers for salary cap circumvention. Leonard escaped with a small fine, clearing the way for his return to the team he helped win a championship in 2019. But here's the thing, the sequel hardly ever lives up to the original.
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Toronto is gearing up for a title chase after snapping a three-year playoff drought last season. Led by all-stars Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, with RJ Barrett chipping in as the team's second-leading scorer,
the Raptors finished as the No. 5 seed in the East and pushed the Cavaliers to seven games in the first-round of the playoffs.
By trading Ingram for Leonard, the Raptors raised their ceiling with a two-time finals MVP coming off arguably the best season of his career as a scorer (Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points). And he took about $11 million less than the max on his extension to give the Raptors more flexibility to build a winner.
Why it won't work
- Leonard is going into his age-35 season as a player with a long injury history. Last season was just the second time in the last nine years he played at least 65 games.
- That doesn't include his one year in Toronto, when the team's load-management plan limited Leonard to 60 games.
- He hasn't played past the first round of the playoffs since 2021, when suffered an injury in the second round. His last full postseason past the first round was the 2020 bubble, when LA blew a 3-1 lead.
- Even at a discount, he's still making over $57 million a year. He's worth every penny if he plays, but that's a lot of money for someone to miss time.
- Winning might not be his top priority. On the Raptors' Open Gym series, Leonard explained why he returned to Toronto: "I'm not really championship chasing, trying to find the best team that can win. I didn't want to put on a thousand jerseys. And the city to a liking to my family. I took a liking to the city. Really enjoyed it. My son was born here and he's been asking me forever when he's going to come back."
The Bottomline
This was a nostalgia play... at least for one side. Leonard returned because this is where he wants to retire. That's not to say it can't work. The Raptors truly do have a competitive team on paper. But betting odds put them between the fourth- and sixth-best team in the East. Even if he stays healthy, it won't be a cakewalk. Fans will enjoy seeing Leonard back in a Raptors jersey, but anything short of a title will fall short of the standard he set his first stint.
The Giants fumbled Jaxson Dart's injury news
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart's knee injury is worse than initially thought and potentially season-ending, NFL Network reported Tuesday. It was stunning news after reports Monday night said Dart would miss a few weeks at most.
The confusion around the severity of his injury was caused by the Giants themselves, and fans are furious about it. General manager Joe Schoen told ESPN Dart would be OK. Head coach John Harbaugh said after the game, via SNY's Connor Hughes, "there's no question. The fact that it's not that outcome that you're talking about, the devastating outcome, is really good news." This was handled poorly.
🩼 Fantasy managers feel the pain: Dart joins Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels among the early-season quarterback injuries. Here's a list of potential long-term fantasy replacements. And Wajih AlBaroudi answers the question of how much Dart's injury will impact Malik Nabers.
🎯 Dart's injury put Jameis Winston in the line of fire: As awful as he was, though, Winston avoided Christian D'Andrea's ranking of the grossest quarterbacks of Week 2. Aaron Rodgers and Drake Maye weren't as lucky.
⚡️ What about Justin Herbert? From injured quarterbacks to a struggling one, Cory Woodroof explores whether the Los Angeles Chargers would (or should) explore trading Justin Herbert in what's looking like a lost season.
Quick hits: Heisman odds ... Mike Macdonald vs. Sean Payton ... and more
- Darian Mensah has a new co-favorite in the Week 4 Heisman Trophy odds tracker.
- ESPN college basketball analyst Chris Spatola died at the age of 47. Here's everything we know about the former Army guard who also coached under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.
- Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald shared in a recent sit-down that Sean Payton threatened to implicate Seattle in a Spygate-like scandal. This makes me wish Denver made the Super Bowl over New England. I would've loved to see the press between these two in the lead-up to the game.
- How much time will Jayden Daniels miss for the Commanders? One insider shed light on the quarterback situation in D.C.
- On the latest episode of his podcast, Travis Kelce reacted to wife Taylor Swift's ring-pointing celebration after his first touchdown of the season.
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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kawhi Leonard's second Raptors stint will almost certainly be a letdown
