Kawhi Leonard Is Going Back To Toronto After The Raptors Trade Brandon Ingram

Kawhi Leonard is going back to Toronto. The Raptors agreed to acquire the two-time Finals MVP from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and future draft picks, a deal reported Monday night that reunites Leonard with the franchise where he won his only NBA championship in 2019.

He averaged 23.8 points per game that season, won Finals MVP and then left in free agency for the Clippers. Seven years later he is returning.

Leonard, 35, has spent his entire Clippers tenure fighting the injury demons that have followed him since his San Antonio days.

He has appeared in more than 60 games just twice in the past six seasons. When healthy he remains one of the most capable two-way players in the league.

The Raptors are betting he can stay on the floor, and that the combination of Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett can make Toronto genuinely dangerous in the East again after consecutive disappointing seasons.

The Clippers get Ingram, a 27-year-old All-Star scorer who averaged 22.1 points last season, plus Gradey Dick and picks.

For a team moving into a rebuild after the Leonard era, Ingram at 27 gives them a legitimate piece to build around rather than the expiring contract Leonard represented.

Leonard agreed to sign an extension with Toronto, which was the prerequisite for the trade.

The Clippers would not have dealt him without that commitment in place. Seven years ago Leonard raised the Larry O'Brien Trophy in Oakland and boarded a plane to Los Angeles.

He raised it in Toronto. That is where this story ends and apparently also where it continues.