Kawhi Leonard is headed back to Canada.
The Los Angeles Clippers opted against handing the 35-year-old star an extension and instead decided to deal him to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
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The move comes as Leonard is owed $50 million in the final year of his current deal.
In return, the Clippers will receive both Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick. They will also get two future first-round draft picks, a pair of second-round draft picks and a pick swap.
Leonard spent one season with the Raptors, who he helped lead to an NBA title in 2019. That marked the franchise’s only championship since entering the league in 1995. Leonard, who was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in 2011 out of San Diego State and spent his first seven seasons in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, averaged 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game that season while earning NBA Final MVP honors for the second time in his career. He also won a title with the Spurs in 2014.
The Kawhi Leonard era in Los Angeles ends
The trade now puts an end to the Leonard era in Los Angeles. That pairing was — at times — very productive, though never resulted in a championship for the Clippers.
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That was the main goal when the Clippers originally signed Leonard ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Leonard was supposed to come to the Clippers, bring another superstar along with him and immediately vault the team into a championship contender.
Things looked good early on, as Leonard and Paul George led the Clippers on two deep playoff runs in their first two years in Los Angeles. Leonard, however, missed the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury.
He returned to action the following year, leading the Clippers back to the playoffs the next three seasons. The Clippers, however, lost in the first round in each of those playoff appearances.
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Despite Leonard posting a career-high 27.9 points per game and garnering MVP votes for the first time in four seasons, he failed to lead the Clippers back to the postseason last year. At 42-40, the team was forced to take part in the play-in tournament, where it was eliminated by the Golden State Warriors.
Given Leonard’s age, and the team’s declining performance in recent years, the Clippers opted to start over and ship Leonard out.
In his six seasons with the franchise, Leonard averaged 25.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He made four All-Star teams and received MVP votes three times, though never finished higher than fifth in the voting.
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There were some questions over whether the team would be allowed to trade Leonard. The Clippers are currently under investigation by the NBA over whether the team circumvented the salary cap when it initially signed Leonard.
The Clippers were accused of giving Leonard $28 million for no-show jobs as part of the team’s agreement to sign the superstar. If true, that would have presented a way for Leonard to make more money than stipulated in his contract, which is a violation of NBA rules. After more details emerged about those alleged payments, the NBA decided to step in and investigate the situation. That investigation remains ongoing.
That, combined with Leonard’s contract situation, puts the forward in a tough spot this season. Leonard undoubtedly would love to receive another lucrative long-term deal, but has also shown a willingness to play out his contract and put his faith in free agency.
On top of that, it’s unclear whether Leonard will face punishment for his potential role in signing with the Clippers back in 2019. Until the league completes its investigation, any new contract signed by Leonard, whether an extension or a free-agent deal, could be under scrutiny.
While that will loom over both Leonard and the Clippers, Leonard will get to return to the place where he won a title and put his time in Los Angeles behind him.
