Kawhi Leonard had interest from the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves before deciding to return to the Toronto Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed.
Speaking on TSN, Charania said both teams, along with others, were interested in acquiring Kawhi Leonard and were willing to offer him a contract extension.
“This is a complete legacy play for Kawhi,” Charania said on TSN. “There were teams, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, others, that had interest in trading for him, that wanted to trade for him, that wanted to give him an extension.”
Leonard had one year remaining on his Clippers contract, giving him an opportunity to influence where he would continue his career.
“But he made a decision because he had one year left on his deal to essentially weed out where he wanted to play, where he wanted to be,” Charania added. “And so this is a legacy play for Kawhi Leonard. There’s no doubt about it.”
Kawhi Leonard chose Toronto
The Raptors officially reacquired Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster trade that sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two future second-round picks to Los Angeles.
The deal had initially been agreed in June but was delayed while the NBA investigated the Clippers over potential salary-cap circumvention involving Leonard.
The league ultimately fined the Clippers $30 million, took away five future first-round picks and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. Leonard was also fined $700,000.
Despite interest from Detroit, Minnesota and other teams, Leonard ultimately chose a return to Toronto, where he won the 2019 NBA championship and Finals MVP during his only previous season with the Raptors.
