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TORONTO, ONTARIO – MAY 21: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against Kawhi Leonard #2 and Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half in game four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Scotiabank Arena on May 21, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Injured Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet is in the news for a story involving his previous team. VanVleet won an NBA Championship with the Toronto Raptors behind Kawhi Leonard’s great one season run with the franchise. Leonard shocked the NBA world by leaving Toronto after the dream season to join the Los Angeles Clippers.
VanVleet gave more information on the Hello and Welcome Podcast about this and how sure Leonard was about leaving from day one:
“He said it from day one, I’m not staying here. So, from day one, he said, ‘I don’t know why they traded for me. I don’t want to be here. I’m not staying here.’ Now, Toronto put their best bid in, man.
The city bowed down as we’ve never seen before, man. And so yes, as for us regular people, we can look at it and say, man, how could you leave that? But his mind was made up, man. Kawhi is Kawhi.”
Leonard didn’t view Toronto as his ideal long-term home with just one year left on his contract. The Raptors took a gamble on acquiring Leonard, without getting any assurances beyond him giving his all for that season.
Why Did Kawhi Leonard Leave Toronto?
It is easy to forget the surroundings around the trade that landed Leonard on the Raptors. The San Antonio Spurs and Kawhi had an ugly falling out over his injury management. Tony Parker and others making public comments questioning Leonard’s desire to play games caused a rift they couldn’t fix.
Toronto took the risk of trading franchise player DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs to gamble on Leonard improving their ceiling. The Raptors had a couple of tremendous regular seasons that ended in playoff heartbreak before this move. Both parties needed a strong season from this move or risked further hurting their dwindling reputations.
Kawhi wanted to pick his own long-term home and history showed that he wanted to play closer to home in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers were considered the second option for Leonard if the Clippers didn’t trade for Paul George to appease his desires.
Kawhi Leonard’s Move Actually Helped Toronto
Raptors fans didn’t turn against Leonard for leaving, like most other fan bases would have for a star player leaving their franchise after one season. Toronto winning the 2019 NBA Championship happened mostly thanks to Leonard giving his all and having another great playoff run.
Kawhi gave his all for the Raptors to have series wins over the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers in highly competitive games. Toronto got the best-case season to have peace with Leonard leaving. However, it remained a shocking decision for most NBA followers to see a franchise player leave a beloved team after a title.
VanVleet provided some more closure by making it clear that Kawhi wasn’t secret about his desires to play elsewhere once fitting free agency. The Raptors lucked out by getting their sole NBA Championship with Leonard’s stellar play or this one-year run would be remembered with greater controversy.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
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