Fortunes rely upon Kawhi Leonard as Raptors prep for brand spanking new season

With coaching camp lower than three weeks away, Leonard continues to be formally a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.

But the priority degree is … not that prime, is what I’m listening to. Is Los Angeles Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer doubtless deeply vexed that his franchise has been docked 5 draft picks, fined $30 million, and he and his prime two executives are dealing with prolonged suspensions within the fallout from the NBA’s wage cap circumvention investigation? 

Is it that a lot tougher to take that Leonard will get to maneuver on along with his profession and certain stroll right into a profitable contract extension with the Raptors whereas getting hit with only a $700,000 wonderful — only a fraction of the cash he gained by a sequence of phony endorsement offers the Clippers arrange on his behalf? 

But these near the state of affairs stay assured that the deal to carry Leonard to Toronto (and ship Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to Los Angeles) will undergo sooner somewhat than later. Procedurally, the Clippers nonetheless have to appoint a staff governor and prime basketball govt to log out on issues, in order that’s thought of to be the primary cause the deal — first agreed to again on June 30 — stays in limbo.

But the information stay that the Clippers are a staff badly in want of draft picks and the Raptors have agreed to ship two unprotected firsts, a first-round choose swap and two seconds to Los Angeles, one thing no different staff was prepared to do. And as a result of Leonard has signalled loudly that the staff he desires to signal an extension with is the Raptors, it’s unlikely some other staff would match that provide for what would doubtless be a one-year rental. 

It helps, too, that Clippers common supervisor Trent Redden — presumed to be the one to take over as lead basketball decision-maker with Los Angeles, with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank suspended for six months — was the chief who led the Raptors-Leonard commerce talks within the first place.

In sum: the deal continues to be anticipated to occur; the timing stays TBD. 

OK, the place had been we when the Raptors season ended again in early May?

Right, proper. Cleveland. And the Raptors had simply misplaced Game 7 of their first-round sequence over the Cavaliers. It was a disappointment, naturally, but in addition a leaping-off level, because the Raptors got here again from down 0-2 towards the closely favoured Cavs and pushed the eventual Eastern Conference finalists to the restrict, regardless of lacking level guard Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) and having main scorer Brandon Ingram badly compromised attributable to a mixture of an ankle harm that finally required surgical procedure and a rugged model of defence he couldn’t deal with. 

It appeared to counsel the Raptors had been nearer to turning the nook to aggressive relevance than anybody had beforehand thought. 

And, wow, did the Raptors ever take a leap from there, apparently seeing sufficient of their 46-win common season and promising playoff displaying to go just about all-in on Leonard to maintain up with, and perhaps pull forward of, the competitors within the more and more formidable Eastern Conference. 

We are nonetheless a few weeks away from coaching camp opening on Sept. 29 in Quebec City, the place the Raptors will play their first pre-season recreation towards Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat on Oct. 3. But it’s by no means a nasty time to look again, look forward and lock in. 

Let’s get going with our 10-point, 2026-27 Raptors primer: 

Will the Raptors win the NBA title once more now that Leonard is again?
Fair query, given buying and selling for and increasing a 35-year-old with a prolonged harm historical past (Leonard has performed simply 56 per cent of his staff’s video games, going again to the 2017-18 season) screams WIN NOW. But whereas the Raptors will likely be including Leonard, the Eastern Conference as a complete took vital steps ahead. The New York Knicks had been dominant in successful the NBA championship and are favourites once more. The Philadelphia 76ers in some way added LeBron James in free company, added Jaylen Brown by commerce and considerably bolstered their depth to vault themselves into contending standing. The Miami Heat added Antetokounmpo. Boston and Cleveland stay formidable, whereas the 2025 Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers can have all-NBA level guard Tyrese Haliburton again from harm and anticipate to be aggressive once more. The Detroit Pistons are coming off a 60-win season, whereas Atlanta, Orlando and Charlotte, and perhaps even the new-look Washington Wizards, will likely be gunning for a playoff spot. The Raptors made their soar final season by feasting on weaker opponents, however there gained’t be as many alternatives this season in a extra aggressive Eastern Conference. An NBA title and even Finals look could also be setting the bar too excessive, even when Leonard performs at peak ranges. A top-four spot within the East could be a worthy accomplishment. 

Who is one of the best participant on the staff? 
Another good query. The “think fast” reply is Leonard, who’s coming off considered one of his finest seasons as he put up a career-high 27.9 factors per recreation for the Clippers and earned all-NBA honours for the seventh time. But incumbent Raptors star Scottie Barnes earned first-team all-defence recognition for the primary time final season after which performed eye-popping basketball within the first spherical towards Cleveland, averaging 24.1 factors, 8.6 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals over seven video games, enjoying with a degree of all-around ferocity that signalled very loudly that he might work his means into all-NBA and even MVP consideration if he can keep that degree over a full season. Put it this fashion, if Leonard repeats his manufacturing from final season and Barnes nonetheless challenges him because the Raptors’ finest participant, the Raptors will likely be a drive to be reckoned with. 

What had been the excessive factors from final season? 
For the primary time shortly, there have been a number of: A nine-game successful streak and stretch of 13 wins in 14 video games in November that primarily set the tone for the Raptors season; a run to the NBA Cup quarterfinals; successful on the street towards defending NBA champion Oklahoma City in January; convincingly sweeping a two-game baseball-style sequence at house towards the Miami Heat in April to assist safe a top-five seed within the East; and a spot within the playoffs for the primary time because the 2021-22 season rank excessive on the listing. But maybe the height second got here in Game 6 of their first-round sequence towards Cleveland when — whereas dealing with elimination — Mississauga, Ont.’s RJ Barrett etched himself into franchise lore when his game-winning three in additional time hit the again rim and bounced about 12 ft into the air earlier than dropping straight down and in with 1.2 seconds left on the clock to win the sport, save the season and ship the Scotiabank Arena crowd right into a frenzy not seen since Leonard’s game-winner bounced 4 instances earlier than falling to safe the Raptors’ win in Game 7 of their second-round sequence towards the Sixers in 2019. 

What will the low factors be? 
They had been few and much between, actually. A 1-4 begin with some blowout losses thrown in put the staff on edge early, however the red-hot November mounted that. The Raptors impressed their share of questions attributable to their season-long struggles towards the NBA’s finest groups: they completed 1-12 towards the highest 4 groups within the East and 1-11 towards the highest six groups within the West, however their robust playoff displaying soothed a few of these considerations, and including Leonard ought to resolve a few of these points going ahead. Perhaps the most important subject all season was a poor displaying from Jakob Poeltl, the veteran centre who began having again issues in coaching camp and ended up enjoying simply 46 video games, and most of these properly under his regular degree of manufacturing. He adopted that up with a lacklustre post-season efficiency that noticed him pushed to the fringes of the rotation at instances. That Poeltl turns 31 subsequent month and whose three-year, $84-million contract extension doesn’t even kick in till subsequent season made his degree of play much more regarding. 

Who are the brand new faces? 
Apart from Leonard, the Raptors roster ought to look fairly acquainted subsequent season, and even Leonard is well-known to Raptors followers. The teaching workers stays largely intact as Darko Rajakovic heads into his fourth season, with solely well-regarded assistant and former head coach Stephen Silas new to that group, taking the place of the departed James Wade. The Raptors can have 13 assured contracts on their books when the Leonard deal is finalized. Given how shut they’re to the $209-million first apron, they are going to be hard-capped after the commerce, so it’s unlikely they are going to carry greater than the league-minimum 14 gamers. Rookie Allen Graves impressed along with his all-around play at Summer League in Las Vegas, and veteran Kyle Anderson will tackle among the management duties that Garrett Temple (now an assistant coach in Dallas) carried out so ably, with the additional benefit that Anderson — who turns 33 this month — continues to be a succesful participant.  

Who left?
Well, as soon as the Leonard deal goes by, Ingram and Dick will now not be Raptors. Presuming Leonard can play 60 or 65 video games and — most significantly — be wholesome for the playoffs, it’s unlikely they are going to be missed all that a lot on the ground. Ingram was an all-star final season and led the Raptors in scoring, however Leonard is considerably higher in nearly all elements of the sport, and it wasn’t like Ingram didn’t have harm considerations both, though he set a profession excessive for minutes performed whereas in Toronto. Dick struggled to comply with up on a promising second season and ended up being vaulted within the rotation by the likes of Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamison Battle and even two-way guard AJ Lawson throughout the playoffs. The well-liked 22-year-old was anticipating a contemporary begin and will get some alternatives with the rebuilding Clippers. Temple has grow to be an precise coach, somewhat than appearing as one in his mentor function in Toronto, whereas big-man specialist Mike Batiste has headed again to his previous EuroLeague staff in Greece as an assistant coach. Lawson has taken a job in Europe after spending 4 years making an attempt to crack an everyday NBA roster.

Who are the Raptors’ breakout candidates for 2026-27?
Can Walter escape once more? If the third-year wing can construct on his post-all-star efficiency — he averaged almost 10 factors an evening and snagged 42 steals in 27 video games whereas taking pictures a scorching 47.6 per cent from three coming off the bench — he has an opportunity to play a major function in what ought to be a deep, aggressive rotation. His defence is coming, and if the taking pictures is actual, Walter might simply elevate the Raptors’ ground. Otherwise? Second-year massive man Collin Murray-Boyles was arguably the Raptors’ second-best participant within the playoffs and was an affect defender all season whereas battling a number of thumb accidents. Another yr of expertise and a wholesome set of fingers, and Murray-Boyles might elevate the Raptors’ ceiling. 

The stress is on … who?
Rajakovic will definitely be scrutinized extra carefully than he ever was over his first three seasons, because the Raptors had been both stripping down their roster, constructing it up or enjoying the a part of the plucky upstart. With Leonard on board, Barnes in his sixth season and a projected beginning lineup incomes $173 million, the expectations will likely be excessive from the opening of coaching camp. Or how about Quickley? The sharp-shooting level guard was the centrepiece within the commerce that despatched OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks. Barrett — who was additionally within the deal — has performed his finest basketball as a Raptor, however Quickley has been comparatively strange and sometimes injured. Anunoby already has a hoop, and if the Raptors are going to make any noise this season and past, Quickley should present he can correctly run a staff with big-time aspirations. 

Games to look at
It’s arduous to consider a regular-season recreation within the first month of the season that may have extra intrigue than the Raptors’ go to to the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, with Leonard dealing with his previous staff on Nov. 2. Think there’s a probability he will get booed after a Clippers tenure that price the franchise 10 first-round picks, the providers of two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (traded to OKC as a part of the deal that introduced in Paul George again in 2019, a situation of Leonard signing with the Clippers again then) and resulted in just one weak Western Conference Finals look? Bank on it; however then once more, the Raptors will likely be enjoying the Clippers on the second night time of a back-to-back, so perhaps he load-manages? Regardless, November presents loads of assessments for the Raptors, together with a pair of consecutive house video games vs. the defending-champion New York Knicks (Nov. 15 and 17) and a recreation in Detroit on Nov. 20 that may doubtless resolve in the event that they advance to the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs come to city on Dec. 16, and Toronto hosts LeBron James and the Sixers on Jan. 10, and SGA and the Thunder are on the town on March 10.

No extra No. 7
Kyle Lowry — the “GROAT” — would be the second Raptor to have his jersey retired when his No. 7 goes up within the rafters alongside Vince Carter’s No. 15 in a pre-game ceremony scheduled forward of the sport on Jan. 10 with Lowry’s hometown Sixers within the constructing. It will cap off a Lowry Festivus, which features a slate of occasions deliberate for the weekend of Sept. 18 and 19, together with a celeb golf match on Sept. 18, a Block Party at Jurassic Park and a fundraising gala on Sept. 19. It’s all to honour Lowry, who retired because the Raptors’ all-time chief in assists, steals, three-pointers, wins and playoff wins.