Back in Toronto, Kawhi Leonard wants to focus on basketball and chase another ring as a Raptor

TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard acknowledged how long it took to complete the trade that sent him back to Toronto, but didn’t want to talk about why.

“I know why some of you guys came,” Leonard said in an opening statement to a crowded media conference. “You want to hear about the investigation. Talking with the NBA and the (National Basketball Players Association), I think the best decision is to move forward and focus on my time being a Toronto Raptor. I already was a distraction for the past 70 days and wasn’t able to meet my teammates, do any of that minicamp stuff with them. Moving forward, I just want to talk about the Toronto Raptors. ... I just want to focus on basketball again.”

The 35-year-old Leonard spent one season in Toronto after he was acquired from San Antonio in 2018, winning his second NBA Finals MVP and leading the Raptors to their lone title in 2019.

“He’s a proven winner and he’s done it here,” Raptors forward RJ Barrett said.

Leonard left Toronto after that title to head home and sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. The end of his tenure there was overshadowed by a salary-cap circumvention scandal that led to massive sanctions against his now-former team .

The investigation into that scandal also delayed the deal, completed earlier this month , that sent the seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion back north of the border.

Last week, Leonard agreed on a two-year contract extension with Toronto that could be worth $115 million if he plays both seasons, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

Monday’s media day, held in a lounge atop a lakefront hotel, overlooked the spot where the championship parade got rolling a few days after Toronto’s six-game triumph over the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals.

The Raptors have just one playoff series victory since, a first-round sweep of the Nets in the 2020 COVID-19 postseason bubble.

Still, Leonard said he likes his chances with this Toronto team, featuring two-time All-Star Scottie Barnes, which pushed Cleveland to seven games in a first-round defeat last spring.

“I’m excited to be back,” Leonard said. “The team played amazing last year. I like to be in a winning environment and I think they give me that here.”

Limited to nine games because of injury in 2017-18, Leonard played 60 regular-season games for Toronto in 2018-19, and another 24 in the playoffs. He hasn’t topped that total since, and missed an entire season after right knee surgery in 2021.

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said the Raptors “know what we’re walking into” when it comes to keeping their new star healthy.

“To be honest with you, I want Kawhi to play 82 games and 48 minutes every night,” Rajakovic said. “But the reality is, his age and his history with injuries, we’ve got to be super smart there.”

Alex McKechnie, the Raptors’ vice president of player health and performance, still leads the training staff that kept Leonard on the court throughout the championship run of 2018-19.

“I played 65 (games) last year,” Leonard said. “Hopefully this year I can play more and even build on that, adding games in the playoffs.”

Leonard is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points.

“Especially off the season that he just had, I think everybody is very confident in his ability to be that kind of superstar that he is,” Barrett said. “I think he’s a Hall of Fame player.”

Leonard is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, while Barnes said Monday that it "felt kind of disrespectful” he wasn’t named to the All-Defensive first team last season.

With Leonard playing alongside him this season, Barnes promised trouble for opposing attackers.

“We can be real dangerous on that end of the floor,” Barnes said. “We’ve got guys that move their feet really well, pick it up full court. It’s starting from 94 feet throughout the whole game. I think it’s going to be real scary.”

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