Leonard may quickly warm to Toronto
When Kawhi Leonard started playing golf, he was fitted with specially lengthened clubs and extra, extra large grips so his catcher-mitt hands, which measure 9 3/4 inches from wrist to tip and 11 1/4 inches from thumb to pinky, wouldn’t swallow the handle.
The point being: There’s nothing standard, off-the-rack about him. The other point being: It might not be good news for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Leonard was traded from San Antonio to Toronto, part of a blockbuster swap that also involved all-star guard DeMar DeRozan, No. 9 overall pick Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first-round pick heading south and Danny Green going north.
Leonard coerced the trade with his impending status as an unrestricted free agent after the 201819 season but he couldn’t coerce the destination, as much as his camp hinted that, you know, a return to Southern California would be nice.
Instead ... Toronto?
So Leonard will zip up his parka, play an obligatory season with the Raptors, respectfully decline their offer for a long-term supermax contract and bid adieu to the Great White North next summer ... just as the Lakers, who conspicuously have been signing free agents to one-year contracts, clear salary cap space for him to join LeBron James. Right?
Here’s what someone who knows Leonard as well as anybody told me privately: “He’s going to fall in love with Toronto — it’s going to happen. He’s not going to leave, I’m telling you.”
For seven years, San Antonio seemed like the perfect place for a quiet, unassuming guy who doesn’t covet money or fame or individual accolades, just titles. The coach, Gregg Popovich, is creative and innovative. The city, low key.
The fan base, passionate. And the team was a perennial title contender.
Toronto? It has a young, innovative coach in Nick Nurse; a fan base that is passionate but will leave you alone in public; a cosmopolitan city that many rank the best stop in the NBA; a locker-room full of versatile, defensive-oriented players who don’t care about scoring averages; a progressive front office; and no longer has to worry about its nemesis, LeBron, in the Eastern Conference playoffs; and Green, one of Leonard’s closest teammates from the Spurs.
The club president is Nigerianborn Masai Ujiri. Leonard has called meeting Barack Obama during the Spurs’ visit to the White House following their 2014 championship “one of my greatest experiences.” Ujiri is tight with Obama and spent last week with him in Kenya opening a basketball court by Ujiri’s Giants of Africa charity.
Leonard likes listening to rapper Drake. He’s courtside for most games.
Or listen to Sharon Powell. She’s the mother of Norman Powell, the Lincoln High alum who played at UCLA and was initially drafted by Milwaukee, only to be quickly dealt to Toronto.
He’s been there three seasons and last fall signed a four-year extension. Sharon, who lives in San Diego, likes it so much that she vows to attend every home game.
“The first time I went, it was freezing cold — cold like you just don’t know,” Sharon says. “But it was the best, it was amazing ... Norman loves it there, he really does. He likes the city, the people, the team. The fans are so great, so supportive. They’re humble, they’re nice, they’re cordial. I haven’t seen pushy people yet.
“It’s just a fabulous place. Everybody has treated us with open arms. I’m hoping when Kawhi gets there he’ll feel the same way. I know he’ll be treated the same way.”