Kawhi Leonard is being linked with the Raptors again: Toronto and the Clippers reportedly discussed a major NBA trade
Kawhi Leonard is once again at the center of one of the biggest stories of the NBA offseason. According to the latest reports from American sports media, the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors held concrete talks during the weekend of June 27 and 28, 2026, about the possibility of a trade that would return the two-time NBA Finals MVP to the franchise with which he won the championship in 2019. No agreement has been reached, and the available information indicates that these are sensitive negotiations in which sporting plans, package value, Leonard's contract and his willingness to commit long-term to his new old environment are all being weighed at the same time. The clubs have so far not officially announced that a trade has been agreed, so the entire case must still be viewed as a serious but unfinished market story.
According to a Bleacher Report report, the talks between the Clippers and Raptors were not merely a routine sounding-out exercise, but real contacts about Leonard's potential return to Toronto. In the same context, it is stated that, if negotiations over a concrete package take place, the Raptors would prefer to include Brandon Ingram in the trade rather than RJ Barrett. According to those claims, Toronto could also consider adding draft picks in order to bring the offer closer to Los Angeles's expectations. That does not mean the Clippers have accepted such a framework, but rather that among the possible scenarios, a package combining an established All-Star player and future draft value is becoming increasingly clear.
A return that would carry rare symbolism
Leonard's name in Toronto carries a weight that few players have in the history of any NBA franchise, even though he played only one season for the Raptors. NBA.com recalls that Leonard led Toronto in 2019 to the first title in the club's history, after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. In Game 6 of the Finals, played on June 13, 2019, Toronto won 114-110, and Leonard won the Bill Russell Award for Finals Most Valuable Player. NBA.com states that in that Finals series he averaged 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists, confirming his status as a player capable of taking on the greatest responsibility at the decisive stage of the season.
That is precisely why his return to Toronto would be much more than an ordinary sporting transaction. For the Raptors, it would be an attempt to reconnect their current ambitions with the most successful period in franchise history. For Leonard, it would mean returning to the city where his reputation reached its peak, but also taking on responsibility in a different context from the one in 2019. Back then, Toronto had an experienced, defensively strong and deep team that was ready to attack the title immediately. Today, any possible return would be part of a more complex roster reconstruction, with different contracts, a younger core and much bigger questions about long-term sustainability.
Sportsnet, citing NBA insider Jake Fischer, reported that the Raptors have registered interest in Leonard's return if the Clippers truly decide to open the door to a trade. The same source states that Leonard would be open to signing a contract extension in Toronto if he were traded, although his preference, according to that report, is to remain in Los Angeles. That nuance is crucial: Toronto can show interest, the Clippers can assess the market, but the value of any package largely depends on whether Leonard would agree after the trade to stay longer than one season.
Why the contract extension is the central condition
Leonard's contract makes the negotiations significantly more complicated. According to Spotrac data, Leonard is under a current three-year contract with the Clippers worth 149.5 million US dollars, and in the 2026/27 season he has a salary of 50.3 million dollars. After that, according to the same source, he can become an unrestricted free agent. For any team that would have to send significant value in return for him, such a contractual position represents a major risk. Nobody wants to pay the price of a superstar if there is a real possibility that the player leaves after one season.
That is why Leonard's willingness to sign an extension is practically a prerequisite for a serious deal. According to reports relayed by Sportsnet, outside the Clippers, Leonard would consider a long-term commitment primarily with two of his former teams, the Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs. Such a stance narrows the negotiating field, but it does not make it simple. The Clippers can demand a high price because Leonard remains an elite player, while interested teams can insist on lowering the price because of his age, health history and the fact that he is entering the final year of his contract.
Sportsnet states that Leonard had one of the most productive seasons of his career behind him, averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals in 65 appearances. Such statistics explain why the Clippers do not have to rush into a trade and why, if they put him on the market at all, they could demand a package that reflects his current quality. At the same time, the figure of 65 games for a player with his injury history carries additional weight, because it shows that in the last season he managed to remain more available than in many previous years. But that very health record remains one of the reasons why Toronto would have to carefully weigh how much of the future it wants to invest in the return of a player who will enter the new season as a veteran with a major contract.
Ingram as a more logical part of the package than Barrett
In the initial information about the possible trade framework, it is particularly emphasized that Toronto would rather send Brandon Ingram than RJ Barrett. Such a priority has both sporting and financial logic. Ingram, according to NBA.com and the Associated Press, arrived in Toronto from the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2025, and the Raptors soon after tied him down to a three-year extension worth 120 million dollars. In that trade, Toronto sent Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a 2026 first-round draft pick and a 2031 second-round pick to New Orleans, showing that the club was already willing at that time to invest significant resources in a player who could be part of a competitive core.
If Ingram were included in a package for Leonard, the Clippers would receive a player who is younger than Leonard, already has All-Star-level experience and carries a large but structured contractual obligation. For Toronto, such a move would mean a change of direction: instead of continuing to build around Ingram, the club would opt for a more aggressive attempt to raise the team's ceiling immediately. In such a scenario, draft picks become a key addition, because Los Angeles would probably seek both current quality and future value. That is exactly where one of the main obstacles lies, because the price for Leonard can quickly rise to a level at which Toronto would have to decide whether it wants to risk the flexibility it has carefully built.
Barrett's name carries a different weight in these talks. Although reports state that Toronto would rather keep him out of the package, the very fact that Ingram and Barrett are being compared shows how deeply the Raptors would have to cut into the roster in order to acquire Leonard. Barrett is part of the existing core in Toronto and an important carrier of the backcourt and wing rotation, so including him would have different consequences for the team's structure. Ingram as a potential central part of the package therefore emerges as an option that could be more acceptable for Toronto, but only if the Clippers judge that his value is a sufficient starting point.
The Clippers between rebuilding and trying to keep their star
The Clippers' situation further complicates the story. Sportsnet reported that Los Angeles finished the season with a 42-40 record, and that the organization had already made moves during the previous months indicating a change of direction. According to the same report, at the February trade deadline the Clippers sent veterans James Harden and Ivica Zubac away in trades that brought them younger players and draft value, and in the 2026 draft they used the fifth pick on Keaton Wagler. Such a sequence of moves does not automatically mean that Leonard is leaving, but it clearly shows that the Los Angeles franchise is considering how to reshape the team around a new timeline.
In such a context, Leonard can be both the centerpiece of a short-term attempt to remain competitive and the biggest asset the Clippers can convert into a broader package for the future. If management believes that with him it can quickly return to the top of the Western Conference, continuing extension talks and seeking additional reinforcements is logical. If, however, the assessment prevails that it is more realistic to accelerate a rebuild, then a trade with Toronto or another team becomes a more open possibility. That is precisely why the Clippers, according to the available information, are seeking significant value in return and do not appear to be a club that must accept the first concrete proposal.
For Toronto, it is also important that the Clippers are in a position in negotiations where they can wait. Leonard's value may be under pressure from his contract and age, but his numbers and reputation still create a market. If they get the impression that the Raptors, Spurs or some third club could raise the offer, Los Angeles has no reason to lower the price too early. That is why the talks, although described as serious, remain far from a completed trade.
Toronto is seeking a jump toward the top, but not without risk
The Raptors enter this story with ambitions of their own. Sportsnet states that Toronto finished last season with a 46-36 record, returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and was eliminated in seven games in the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is important context, because it shows that the club is no longer in a pure rebuilding phase, but has not yet proven that it is ready to compete with the strongest teams in the East. It is precisely such teams that often look toward the star market, searching for a move that can change the boundaries of what is realistic in the playoffs.
General manager Bobby Webster, after the first round of the draft, spoke, according to Sportsnet, about Toronto having its own first-round picks, players on rookie contracts and enough assets to be opportunistic on the trade market. This fits into the broader picture: the Raptors do not lack only talent, but potentially also a clear hierarchy for a deep playoff run. Leonard, if healthy and motivated, would immediately bring elite wing defense, experience in the biggest games and offensive reliability in closing stages. But his arrival could at the same time shorten the developmental timeline and increase the pressure to achieve results immediately.
That is why any possible deal would not be only a matter of nostalgia. Toronto would have to assess whether a team with Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Barrett if he stays, Immanuel Quickley and the rest of the rotation could truly become a candidate for the top of the conference. If the price included Ingram and several valuable picks, a wrong assessment could leave the club without part of its current quality and without a significant portion of its future flexibility. On the other hand, franchise history shows that Toronto has already once profited when it took a risk with Leonard on a contract that did not guarantee a long-term stay.
The negotiations still do not have the shape of an agreement
Despite the growing amount of information, it is currently not clear how close Toronto and Los Angeles are to an actual deal. According to the available reports, talks exist, the Raptors' interest is real, and Leonard's openness to an extension in Toronto makes the scenario at least theoretically feasible. But it is equally clear that the Clippers are seeking a high price, that no package has been publicly confirmed and that without Leonard's clear contractual commitment, it is difficult to expect Toronto to surrender a significant combination of players and draft picks.
The possible return of Kawhi Leonard to Toronto is therefore, for now, a story with plenty of appeal, but also with many brakes. The symbolism of 2019 makes it especially powerful, but the business logic of the NBA demands a colder calculation. The Raptors must know whether they are buying a short-term dream or a real opportunity for another title run. The Clippers must decide whether they want to build once again around their biggest star or turn him into a package that opens a new chapter. Leonard, as in 2019, remains the central figure whose decision about the future will determine how far this story can go.
Sources:
- Bleacher Report – report on new rumors, talks between the Clippers and Raptors, and a possible trade framework for Kawhi Leonard (link)
- Sportsnet – report on the Raptors' interest, Leonard's possible willingness to sign a contract extension, season statistics and the context of the Clippers and Toronto (link)
- NBA.com / Associated Press – data on Brandon Ingram's arrival in Toronto and his three-year contract extension with the Raptors (link)
- Spotrac – details of Kawhi Leonard's current contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and free-agent status after the 2026/27 season (link)
- NBA.com – overview of Leonard's 2019 Finals MVP award and the winning of the first NBA title in Toronto Raptors history (link)