Everything Shams Charania said about the situation regarding Kawhi Leonard
Everything Shams Charania said about the situation of things
I seriously engaged on a trade that would send Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto, and sources tell me that Kawhi Leonard has made it clear around the league that Toronto would be the only place he would commit to on a long-term contract extension, if he’s traded out of LA, and that’s at the crux of this situation.
The Clippers have not made any commitment to Kawhi Leonard beyond his current contract, which has one year and about $50 million left on it, and so a player of Kawhi Leonard’s caliber just made the second. Term commitment clearly is a very important part, and back with Toronto means a few things.
One, the familiarity that exists between these two sides. Kawhi Leonard was there for one season, 2018, 2019 won a championship there.
Most of that for an office regime is still intact, led by Bobby Webster, the executive vice president of Basketball Operations, and he won there. There’s history there, and so when you think about those conversations, they’ve been going on over the last few days, they’re going to, they’re expected to continue over the course of today to see if a deal can come to fruition.
And right now, one thing that’s become clear around the league is Kawhi Leonard does have a amount of leverage in this situation, because he has just one year left on his deal, and Toronto is the place he would sign an extension.
Kawhi Leonard is reportedly open to rejoining Toronto if traded from the Los Angeles Clippers, as he has indicated a willingness to sign a long-term extension with the Raptors. Leonard’s familiarity with the team, having won a championship with them in 2019, and the ongoing…
— Sports Fountain (@sportfountain) June 29, 2026
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