Photo via Toronto Star

Raptors take gamble on Kawhi Leonard, signing him to two-year contract extension

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Smith, D. (2026, September 22). Raptors take gamble on Kawhi Leonard, signing him to two-year contract extension. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/raptors-take-gamble-on-kawhi-leonard-reportedly-signing-him-to-two-year-contract-extension/article_708a9689-8bd4-48ae-9502-b465a20919eb.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-22 · by Doug Smith

Quick Summary

Toronto Raptors signed Kawhi Leonard to a two-year, $115 million contract extension that starts in 2027-28, with an option for a third guaranteed year. This deal is slightly less than the maximum salary he could have earned elsewhere, showing Leonard’s willingness to sacrifice some money to stay with Toronto. The Raptors gain financial flexibility from this agreement but face the risk of signing a 35-year-old player who has had injury concerns in recent seasons.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kawhi Leonard, aged 35, signed a two-year contract extension worth US$115 million with the Toronto Raptors, including an option for the 2028-29 season. This deal is under the maximum $126.6 million he could have earned and follows a June trade agreement from the Los Angeles Clippers that was finalized only recently due to NBA salary-cap investigations. Leonard had previously helped the Raptors win their sole NBA title in the 2018-19 season before leaving as a free agent for the Clippers. The extension solidifies his commitment to Toronto through at least 2029, despite potential health risks associated with long-term contracts for older players.

Written for “Kawhi Leonard Signs With Raptors” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Kawhi Leonard Signs With Raptors
Sports · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 4 of 34 claims Outlet record 64/100
Global News
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 63/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Kawhi Leonard's farewell to Clippers fans after being traded to Toronto, while Article B discusses his new contract with the Raptors.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Kawhi Leonard's contract extension with the Raptors, they describe different events in time: Article A covers the signing of the new extension, while Article B discusses the aftermath and impact on the Clippers.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 4 of 36 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A discusses the signing of Kawhi Leonard's contract extension, while Article B focuses on the motivations behind bringing him back to the Raptors.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 7 of 66 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Kawhi Leonard's involvement with the Raptors; Article A focuses on a mailbag discussion about injuries in sports while Article B covers the signing of a contract extension.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
3 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10538 article(s) · 27 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 27 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Doug Smith
25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Thanks for all you have done and will do in keeping us informed.
🔮 The Raptors have been building toward this for years, trying to assemble a collection of multi-faceted, above-average defenders who will give them a chance every night they take to the court.
🔮 Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Raptors show defensive chops
🔮 Kawhi Leonard is back, and so are the Raptors' championship hopes There will be noise attached to this Raptors season, noise they have not heard for years, associated with legitimate contenders, and noise they are anxiously awaiting.
🔮 Improving on that record would go a long way to vault them in position to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
🔮 Without him, I don’t think it would be the team we are.
🔮 It’s fun for me and more varied questions might interest some of you, too.
🔮 It’s unlikely the Raptors will change their starting lineup but that group should close every close game.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Raptors flash on defence in pre-season loss to Knicks
🔮 The Raptors surely are, and all they are thinking about now is how good this group might become, because Kawhi Leonard took to an NBA court in a Toronto uniform again Tuesday night and it was nothing but good.
🔮 While fans and some players would gladly trade days in training camp and the odd pre-season game for a bit more rest in an arduous regular season, the Raptors coach wouldn’t mind even more preparation time. “If you ask players, they will start to play games on the first day of training camp … if you ask coaches, we’re missing probably two weeks of training camp
Also by Doug Smith
Raptors show defensive chops
2026-10-21 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Doug Smith →

Topics

Clippers Raptors Star Toronto U.S.

Subjects

Leonard PERSON · 15× Raptors ORG · 7× Toronto GPE · 5× Clippers ORG · 3× NBA ORG · 2× Scottie Barnes PERSON · 2× Brandon Ingram PERSON · 1× Kawhi Leonard PERSON · 1× Star ORG · 1× U.S. GPE · 1×

Narrative

But it also allowed the trade to be finalized and Leonard became a Raptor again last week; the two sides have been talking off and on about an extension since July. It is an inherent gamble to sign any 35-year-old pro athlete to a contract extension because of long-term health issues and risks that come with that, but it’s even more of a gamble given Leonard’s career arc. He played in 65 of 82 games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 32.1 minutes per game and a career-high 27.9 points but he was able to play only 37 games in the 2024-25 season when he averaged 31.9 minutes per game. He logged 34.3 minutes a game in a 68-game 2023-24, after playing just 52 games in 2022-23.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 Leonard could have signed a maximum with a team for two years at $126 million, and he also waived a $7 million trade kicker to facilitate his trade to the Raptors that became official last week.

Claims (28 extracted, 3 hedged)

The Raptors patiently waited months to obtain Kawhi Leonard and wasted no time in locking him up for years, saving themselves some money on the way. asserted
Raptors → wait → way
Toronto and the 35-year-old Leonard have agreed to a two-year, $115 million (all figures U.S.) contract extension that kicks in to start the 2027-28 season. asserted
that → agree → season
It also contains a guaranteed third year at Leonard’s option, according to Star sources granted anonymity because the move isn’t yet official. uncertain
move → contain → anonymity
Leonard could have signed a maximum with a team for two years at $126 million, and he also waived a $7 million trade kicker to facilitate his trade to the Raptors that became official last week. uncertain
that → sign → Raptors
Whether a maximum at $126 million existed on the open market is unknowable but Leonard did take a bit of a salary hit to re-join the Raptors after leading Toronto to an NBA title in 2019. asserted
Leonard → exist → 2019
The financial aspect gives the Raptors some salary flexibility in the next couple of seasons — it’s unclear how much and how important it will be until the current roster performs — but the deal does end a long saga to return Leonard to Toronto after he left as a free agent in 2019. uncertain
he → give → 2019
The trade with the Clippers — Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple draft picks — was agreed to in July but put on hold while a league investigation into Los Angeles salary contravention dragged on. asserted
investigation → agree → contravention
The year-long probe finally ended last month with the Clippers forfeiting five draft picks, fined $30 million and their owner and heads of basketball and business operations suspended. asserted
owner → end → basketball
Leonard was forced to repay $700,000 in ill-gotten gains. asserted
Leonard → force → gains
But it also allowed the trade to be finalized and Leonard became a Raptor again last week; the two sides have been talking off and on about an extension since July. It is an inherent gamble to sign any 35-year-old pro athlete to a contract extension because of long-term health issues and risks that come with that, but it’s even more of a gamble given Leonard’s career arc. He played in 65 of 82 games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 32.1 minutes per game and a career-high 27.9 points but he was able to play only 37 games in the 2024-25 season when he averaged 31.9 minutes per game. He logged 34.3 minutes a game in a 68-game 2023-24, after playing just 52 games in 2022-23. asserted
He → allow → 2022
He missed the entire 2021-22 season due to knee surgery. asserted
He → miss → surgery
One saving grace for the Raptors is they have a proven history of keeping Leonard healthy and available through the hardest part of a championship season. asserted
they → save → season
After using what’s now known as “load management” during the 2018-19 season, the Raptors got 60 regular season games from him (at an average of 34 minutes a night, third most of his 14 NBA years) and he paid them back by a dominant run through 24 playoff games. asserted
he → use → games
“This city took a liking to my family, and I took a liking to this city,” Leonard said in a YouTube video posted by “Open Gym,” the team’s sanctioned documentary-style outlet. asserted
Leonard → take → Gym
“I really liked it. asserted
I → like → it
My son was born here, and he’s been asking me forever when he’s going to come back. asserted
he → bear → me
Now he’s back, and he’s able to see it rather than me tell him the great stories that happened. asserted
that → ’ → stories
The Raptors hope to partner Leonard with Scottie Barnes to form one of the best defensive wing duos in the league. asserted
Raptors → hope → league
Leonard is a two-time NBA defensive player of the game, Barnes was second-team all-defence last season and the two, on paper, are as formidable a tandem as there is in the league. asserted
two → be → league
It’s a large part of why Leonard set his eyes solely on Toronto when it became clear his time with the Clippers was coming to an end. asserted
time → ’ → end
“I think we’ve got a great chance,” Leonard said on the “Open Gym” segment. asserted
Leonard → think → segment
“This group played great last year. asserted
group → play → ?
I watched them a lot. asserted
I → watch → them
“You’ve got Scottie Barnes, (he) showed his talents over the past two, three years. asserted
he → get → years
He’s become an all-star. asserted
He → become → ?
He’s going to be a problem this next coming year. asserted
He → go → ?
I love the young guy (Collin Murray-Boyles). asserted
I → love → guy
He brings a lot of energy to the team, shows relentlessness on the court, not scared of nobody.” asserted
He → bring → nobody
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support