When will Kawhi Leonard make his first trip back to Toronto since winning the 2019 NBA championship with the Raptors?
Toronto Raptors fans, circle Wednesday, Dec. 11 on your calendar.
That’s when Kawhi Leonard will make his return to Toronto for the first time since he won the 2018-19 NBA championship with the Raptors.
The NBA released the schedule for the 2019-20 season Monday, which features two matchups between the Raptors and Leonard’s new team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
- Raptors at Clippers: Monday, Nov. 11 (10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
- Clippers at Raptors: Wednesday, Dec. 11 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Leonard came to the Raptors via trade in July 2018, although he reportedly wasn’t thrilled about the move at first. Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported Leonard had “no interest in playing for the Raptors” and added there had “been indications that he would sit out the entire season if necessary.”
Those concerns proved unfounded, as Leonard suited up for 60 regular season games as part of a “load management” strategy to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoffs. That ultimately paid dividends, as Leonard forced himself back into the best-player-in-the-world conversation while leading the Raptors to their first ever NBA championship.
Although the Raptors could offer him more years on his contract and more money than any other free agent suitor, the appeal of going back to Southern California was too great for Leonard to turn down. He wound up signing a three-year max deal with the Clippers (with a third-year player option), where he’ll be joined by fellow All-Star forward Paul George.
Without Leonard, the Raptors have almost no chance of successfully defending their championship, although they should still be a solid playoff team in the East. General manager Bobby Webster may eventually commence a teardown — Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are all heading into the final year of their respective contracts, and all three will be on the wrong side of 30 when the season begins — but Pascal Siakam appears to be an All-Star in the making.
After seeing how well it worked out for the Raptors, the Clippers figure to be conservative with Leonard’s regular season workload. NBA fans can only hope Leonard doesn’t sit out on either Nov. 11 or Dec. 11.