The Toronto Raptors’ interest in a reunion with star forward Kawhi Leonard is “real but conditional,” according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.
Multiple reports from the last week have indicated both Leonard and the Raptors have mutual interest in reuniting via a potential trade.
According to Lewenberg, the Raps’ interest is contingent on the price it would take to acquire Leonard in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Hard to see them paying more than last time, so think similar framework: secondary star (Ingram), former lottery pick (Dick), first-rounder in the following year’s draft,” Lewenberg wrote as part of a post on X describing a possible framework package.
Lewenberg also points out the timeline on draft picks could be crucial. The Raptors might be motivated to move a pick in the not-so-distant future given Leonard’s age and injury history as well as the league’s new flattened draft lottery odds, where the Clippers may want something further down the line with potentially higher upside.
Reports from earlier this week have also connected Leonard to his other former team, the San Antonio Spurs.
On Sunday, The Athletic reported the Dallas Mavericks could also get in on the Leonard sweepstakes, which would reunite him with former Raptors president and current Mavericks head Masai Ujiri, who acquired Leonard and Danny Green from the Spurs in a blockbuster trade in the summer of 2018 that sent DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first-round pick back to San Antonio.
The Athletic reports the Mavs’ potential package for Leonard could include P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and draft picks.
Leonard, who will turn 35 on Monday, finished seventh in MVP voting last season after averaging a career-high 27.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Leonard also shot .505 per cent from the field, .387 per cent from beyond the arc and .892 per cent from the free throw line in 65 games.
The California native led the Raptors to their first ever championship in his only season north of the border and joined the Clippers on a free agent deal later that summer. Leonard has spent the past seven seasons in L.A., but the Clippers have advanced past the second round only once during his tenure, reaching as far as the Western Conference Final in 2021.
Despite one of his best seasons in 2025-26, the Clippers finished 42-40 to miss the playoffs altogether, and have now failed to advance past the first round in five straight seasons.
Leonard is a 14-year NBA veteran after being selected No. 15 overall by the Spurs out of San Diego State in 2011. The future Hall-of-Famer is a seven-time All-Star, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time NBA Finals MVP.
