Kawhi Leonard Answers Many Questions for the Raptors. Still, Success Isn’t Guaranteed.

Editor’s Note: For the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.

At long last, Kawhi Leonard is back with the Raptors. The trade that sent him from the Clippers to Toronto dragged on while the NBA finalized its yearlong investigation into Leonard and his former franchise for salary cap circumvention. Los Angeles was hit the harshest punishment in league history, while Leonard got slapped with a fine and went on his merry way.

Now that the saga is over, the Raptors will have a say in the suddenly loaded Eastern Conference with a new superstar in the fold. One who led the franchise to its first and only title, no less! That’s a big boost for the Scottie Barnes-led group who took the Cavaliers to seven games in the first round.

Adding a new No. 1 option is a big change for any team, though. So how will the new-look Raptors look once the season kicks off? We had an NBA scout weigh in.

“Toronto is a good team if Kawhi's healthy, which is always a big if,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated. “But the one thing they need is some shooting around him. They have Immanuel Quickley, but Quickley didn't shoot the ball well last year. So if he can step up and make shots, that will help. RJ Barrett's not a great shooter. They still haven't addressed the center position. Jakob Poeltl, he's always hurt, and then the next guy up is like a 6'8" Collin Murray-Boyles, who I really like, and I think he's going to be really good, but he shouldn't have to play center. But their bench isn't very strong.”

Last season, the Raptors were in the bottom half of the league in three-point percentage as the group connected on 35.4% of its shots from deep. That didn’t come at volume either, as Toronto’s 32.1 three-point attempts per game was more than only the Mavericks, Rockets, Pistons and Kings.

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Toronto’s best shooter last year was Quickley, who hit 37.1% of his near seven three-point attempts per game. The most efficient was Ja’Kobe Walter, the second-year guard who came off the bench. He’s still with the team and should continue to bring some firepower in coach Darko Rajaković’s second unit.

Leonard certainly brings some juice from distance, but you have to wonder whether he’ll have the floor spacing he needs surrounded by Barrett, Barnes and Quickley. However, Barnes is a bona fide star that will garner plenty of defensive attention to make Leonard’s life easier. At only 25 years old, Barnes has two All-Star appearances and received second team All-Defense honors last year as he led the Raptors to the fifth seed in the East with a 46–36 record.

Still, he’s not a fully molded player; the presence of Leonard could help him grow.

“Barnes needs to be more aggressive. He's always so passive,” the scout said. “He tries to play this point forward role, and listen, there's nights that he scores big and then there's nights that he looks disinterested. He needs to be consistent in his effort and his aggression and be more assertive as a scorer.”

Barnes is a great facilitator for his position as he averaged 5.9 assists per game last year. But he’s earned the right to get his own shot and be a little selfish. That’s been hard at times with most of the easy looks coming around him, but the scoring upgrade Toronto will get from replacing Brandon Ingram with Leonard as the primary bucket-getter should help Barnes play more free.

Offseason recap

Who’s in: Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Anderson, Jamal Shead (extension), Alijah Martin (re-signed), Allen Graves (draft)
Who’s out: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, Sandro Mamukelashvili

The key move of Toronto’s offseason was, obviously, the trade for Leonard. Ingram and Gradey Dick went back to Los Angeles along with a couple first-round picks, a pick swap and two seconds. The big move takes the Raptors from a playoff team to a title contender. If things don’t click right away, they have some time as Leonard was recently signed to a two-year, $115 million extension that ties him to the team through the 2028-29 season.

That saves Toronto from relenting a bunch of draft capital for one season of Leonard and locks the franchise’s former superstar down for (presumably) the rest of his career. Sandro Mamukelashvili’s signing with the Lakers is the biggest loss roster wise, especially as the center spot faces a big question with Poeltl’s health and big contract, which doesn’t kick in until 2027-28. If Poeltl struggles to stay on the floor, Toronto will most likely play small with their bevy of lengthy forwards like it has in the past. Allen Graves, a 6'9" forward out of Santa Clara, helps if he’s able to contribute immediately.

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Backup guard Jamal Shead recently got a three-year contract extension on a nice deal for the Raptors that locks down some high-level passing and defense from the backcourt with upside to take a step forward as a scorer.

SI’s prediction for the 2026-27 Raptors

Record: 45–37 | Predicting the 2026–27 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?

Toronto should be good once again. Leonard’s return only adds to what the franchise was building. The question is whether he can stay on the floor and how the rest of the East looks. It will be a gauntlet, but the Raptors should position themselves for a return to the playoffs. They just have to take a step forward from there with a new No. 1 in town.

“Adding Kawhi, the go-to guy that puts everybody in their roles, like Scottie's No. 2, RJ's No. 3, and then Quickley's No. 4 with their group. I think they'll be better than they were last year and they'll compete to stay out of the play-in, like the six, seven seed area,” the scout said.

The improvement may not show in the standings among improved competition, but the Raptors are certainly better positioned to make a run in the East.

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