The punishment the NBA handed down to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Kawhi Leonard scandal definitely helps the Boston Celtics long-term. That pick swap Boston got in the Paul George trade has now suddenly skyrocketed in value. The only downside is that now there should be nothing stopping Leonard from returning to Toronto.
That's a problem for Boston because even if Leonard isn't at the top of the NBA's player hierarchy anymore, he's not too far off from it. Coming off an All-NBA second team, it's clear Leonard still has plenty left in the tank even in his mid-30s.
And now he gets to re-join a Raptors team he not only won a title with (albeit seven years ago), but also gives them an immediate upgrade after an exciting playoff run. They also swapped out Brandon Ingram, who didn't fare too great in the playoffs, for Leonard, a well-established playoff riser.
This ultimately makes the Raptors among the Celtics' biggest threats in the Eastern Conference. Now, everyone already knew this when Toronto first brought him back, but with the Leonard investigation putting the deal on hold, it remained up in the air as to whether the deal would go through.
ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed the same day the NBA punished the Clippers that the deal is set to go down in the next few days.
"The full expectation around the Raptors and around Kawhi Leonard and the league is that this trade will be going through in the next few days."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2026
—@ShamsCharania on the status of Kawhi Leonard's trade to the Raptors following the NBA's investigation 👀 pic.twitter.com/cQlj8w5OaV
That is, if Leonard stays healthy
Toronto didn't give up all that much for someone as good as Leonard still is. Two draft picks and a pick swap, along with Grady Dick, on top of Ingram, is a solid return, but for someone like Leonard, that's not all that much (and the Clippers better use those assets wisely.
It's not that much more than what the Celtics got back for Jaylen Brown when you think about it. Leonard's age probably has something to do with that, but also the fact that he is a fragile player.
Leonard does not have the best rep when it comes to durability. He is coming off a relatively healthy season, but he has the tendency to get hurt for an extensive and/or get hurt at the worst possible time.
That's not the only factor at play. Despite the fact that Leonard was both healthy and was good enough to make second team All-NBA, the Clippers only made the play-in, showing that Leonard isn't the trump card he once was.
Look, with all that out there, anyone in Toronto's shoes would have gotten Leonard the first chance they got because he still is an all-timer who is only beginning to fall out of his prime. That makes the Raptors a threat, but they will only as such if all goes right.
What's scary is that that's exactly what happened in his first go-round in Toronto.
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