Seven years after he left Toronto with a championship ring, Kawhi Leonard has decided it is where he wants to finish. The 35-year-old forward agreed to a two-year, $115 million extension on Tuesday, with the second season a player option for 2028-29.
The Kawhi Leonard Raptors extension lands just weeks after his trade from the Los Angeles Clippers finally went through. It also hands the Toronto Raptors something they never secured in 2019: a long-term commitment from their franchise star.
Inside the Kawhi Leonard Raptors Extension
Leonard left money on the table to get it done. ESPN reports he accepted $11 million less than his maximum and waived a $7.45 million trade kicker, giving Toronto more room on a crowded payroll.
Counting the final year of his current contract, which pays just over $50 million this season, he is now tied to the Raptors for three years and $165 million. His agent says Leonard expects to retire in Toronto.
A Messy Summer Finally Settles
The two teams agreed to the trade on June 30. It then stalled for more than two months while the NBA investigated whether Los Angeles had circumvented the salary cap on Leonard’s behalf.
The league eventually stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks, fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million and suspended him for a year. Leonard avoided a suspension but paid a $700,000 fine, clearing Toronto to complete the deal in September.
His Clippers years never delivered the title the franchise craved. Two deep early playoff runs gave way to an ACL tear, three straight first-round exits and, last spring, a play-in loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Age is the obvious risk attached to any Kawhi Leonard Raptors extension. Still, he is coming off a career-best 27.9 points per game, and a Raptors side that took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games last postseason now has its closer back.
