3 Trade Ideas Raptors Could Explore For Clippers Star Kawhi Leonard

The Toronto Raptors are viewed as a team that could acquire Kawhi Leonard in a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers during the offseason.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard controls the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are among the teams that could trade for Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard spent the 2018-19 campaign with the Raptors, where he helped the franchise win its first and only title to date. He jetted for the Clippers the following offseason and has been in Tinseltown ever since, but with his contract nearly expiring, the team could look to trade its former star free agent.

The Raptors have some assets to offer the Clippers, making a deal quite possible between the two sides. Here's what three mock trades could look like:

If there was a player Leonard would take over for in the starting lineup, it would be Ingram, the team's starting power forward. A swap like this would give the Raptors a tentative starting lineup with Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.

It would be an immediate plug-and-play option for the Raptors as they look to combine Leonard and Barnes to form one of the best defensive duos in the league.

In this potential deal, the Raptors would have to give up more assets to satisfy Leonard's hefty $50 million salary for the upcoming season, but they would eliminate their forward mess in their depth chart.

After drafting Allen Graves with the No. 19 overall pick, the Raptors could move on from some of their bench players to give him more of a chance to play.

In this hypothetical scenario, the Raptors would start Quickley, Ingram, Leonard, Barnes and Poeltl. Jamal Shead would lead the bench unit alongside Ja'Kobe Walter, Collin Murray-Boyles, Allen Graves and Trayce Jackson-Davis. However, they would have a chance to add more players in free agency, especially at the centre position.

This trade would give the Raptors a completely new look with two fresh starters in Leonard and Garland. The Raptors were reportedly interested in trading for LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets, so their desire to acquire Garland could make sense.

The only way the Raptors would be able to take on both Leonard and Garland's contracts, which total over $92 million, would be to include Poeltl's deal, which is valued at over $100 million over the next four seasons. Adding that to the deal, along with Garland, would raise the price for the Raptors.

They would have to include Ingram over Barrett, put Quickley in the deal and add multiple first-round picks and swaps. With more moving parts, the likelihood of this trade is slim, but the reasoning behind the deal makes sense for both sides.

The Clippers likely aren't married to Garland after trading for him just last season. Their No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler would be given a green light out of the gate and they fulfill their need for a centre by adding Poeltl, even if he's on a poorly-valued deal.

Los Angeles gets a much-needed reset while Toronto gets the necessary pieces to take the next step towards making a deep playoff run.

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