TORONTO — The second Kawhi Leonard era for the Toronto Raptors is not off to a good start.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Leonard is expected to miss a period of weeks due to swelling in his left knee.
An MRI on Leonard’s knee showed no structural damage, but Leonard will miss multiple weeks.
The Raptors acquired Leonard from the LA Clippers this offseason. Leonard played for Toronto in 2018-19 and led the franchise to the 2019 championship against the Golden State Warriors.
Leonard has played in two games this season. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 32.4% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc and a perfect 100.0% from the free-throw line.
Raptors Gave Leonard Extension After Clippers Trade
Toronto signed Leonard to a two-year, $115 million extension after acquiring the future Hall of Famer from Los Angeles.
Leonard took $11 million less than his maximum extension number. He will make $50.3 million this season and has a player option for the 2028-29 season.
The 35-year-old Leonard now has three years and $165 million on his Raptors deal.
Leonard’s First Raptors Stint Was Special
Leonard requested a trade from the San Antonio Spurs and was traded to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan in July 2018.
The Raptors won 58 games during the 2018-19 season and were the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Leonard averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and made the All-Star team, the All-Defensive Second Team and the All-NBA Second Team during the 2018-19 season.
Behind Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry, Toronto defeated the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks to reach the 2019 NBA Finals, where the Raptors faced the Warriors.
Toronto upset Golden State in six games to capture its first NBA championship. Leonard won Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the six-game series.
Leonard’s Clippers Tenure Was Awful
In the summer of 2019, Leonard left the Raptors in free agency for the Clippers, who acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Leonard and George were teammates in Los Angeles for five seasons and never reached the NBA Finals.
The Clippers went to the Western Conference Finals in 2021, but they lost to the Phoenix Suns. Leonard tore his ACL in the second round against the Utah Jazz, so he didn’t play against the Suns.
George, who now plays for the Boston Celtics, left the Clippers for the 76ers in the summer of 2024. Leonard and George blew a 3-1 series lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2020 playoffs at the Walt Disney World bubble. Their time together was awful.
Leonard appeared in 331 regular-season games and 35 playoff games with the Clippers, who went 217-114 in the regular season and 17-18 in the playoffs when Leonard played.
LAC has never been to the NBA Finals in franchise history.
Clippers And Leonard Got Punished
The NBA announced that the Clippers and Leonard were penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules included in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
The conclusion was based upon information developed through an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
The investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.
Leonard, through the conduct of Dennis Robertson on his behalf, violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses.
Based on the misconduct, the NBA imposed the following penalties:
● The Clippers shall forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts.
● The Clippers are fined $30 million.
● Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.
● Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year for being primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.
● Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months for his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Leonard and his family.
● The Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.
● In connection with his violations, Leonard is required to pay the league $700,000.
● Mr. Robertson is banned from conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel for a period of five years.
