{"id":21394,"date":"2019-06-03T19:30:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T23:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21394"},"modified":"2019-06-03T19:30:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T23:30:41","slug":"kawhi-leonard-buys-property-in-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/06\/03\/kawhi-leonard-buys-property-in-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard Buys Property in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto Raptors fans, rejoice. It was reported Monday afternoon that superstar <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a><\/strong> has purchased property in Toronto. Though it could be a coincidence, it seems likely that Leonard may plan to stay in Canada for at least the short-term future.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Kawhi Leonard Reportedly Purchased Property in Toronto<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h2><strong>The Report<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It was first reported by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/radio\/toronto-1050\/david-thorpe-on-raptors-game-2-loss-kawhi-s-future-and-more-1.1315845\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Landsberg on his Toronto-based sports radio show &#8220;First Up&#8221;<\/a> that Leonard has purchased property in Toronto. His guest on the show, David Thorpe of TrueHoop.com, corroborated the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>There have been rumors swirling that Leonard plans to sign a short-term deal with the Raptors in the offseason and this news backs those rumors, to a degree. If the reports are true, it is unlikely Leonard bought property in a city he plans to leave in a month.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/REPORT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#REPORT<\/a>: According to multiple sources, the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Raptors<\/a> star Kawhi Leonard has reportedly bought a property in Toronto (via Michael Landsberg\/<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FirstUp1050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FirstUp1050<\/a>)<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeTheNorth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeTheNorth<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RTZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RTZ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBATwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBATwitter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAPlayoffs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; RaptorsMuse (@_RapsMuse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_RapsMuse\/status\/1135674573905649664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 3, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Reasons to Stay in Toronto<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In terms of winning, it makes the most sense to sign a short-term deal in Toronto. Leonard would\u00a0return to the first team to win the East without <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0since 2010. There are solid pieces around him, and the championship window won&#8217;t be closed after this season if he returns. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/siakapa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pascal Siakam<\/a> <\/strong>has shown serious potential, as has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Fred VanVleet<\/strong><\/a>. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowryky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gasolma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Gasol<\/a><\/strong> aren&#8217;t quite ready to call it quits either.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of money, it will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2018\/06\/nba-maximum-salaries-for-201819.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">financially beneficial<\/a> to sign a short-term deal as well.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard has been in the league for eight seasons. That qualifies him for &#8220;7-9 year veteran&#8221; status when <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbafaq.com\/salarycap.htm#Q23\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">negotiating an NBA contract<\/a>. A player with that qualification can earn up to 30 percent of the salary cap in their first season. If they signed with their\u00a0previous team, they can also earn an eight percent raise each season. Based on the current salary cap, that would give Leonard roughly $30.5 million in his first year and nearly $33 million in a second year. If he signs anywhere besides Toronto, he would only receive a five percent raise in the second year.<\/p>\n<p>If he signs a two-year deal and becomes a free agent after his 10th season, he will be classified as a &#8220;10+ year veteran&#8221; and thus eligible to receive up to 35 percent of the salary cap. The salary cap will likely increase over the next two seasons, but based on its current state, that equates to $35.7 million in the first year. Players are then eligible for the same eight percent raise each year\u00a0if they re-signed with their old team, and the five percent raise if they changed teams.<\/p>\n<p>In short, Leonard will be leaving money on the table if he signs a long-term deal this offseason. The Raptors will still be able to pay him the most of any team, but that number spikes once he hits the end of his 10th season.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Up Next For Kawhi Leonard and His Toronto Raptors<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Raptors are currently in the NBA Finals, largely thanks to Leonard. They won\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/05\/30\/nba-finals-game-1-recap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Game 1<\/a> in Toronto before losing on their home floor in <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/06\/02\/nba-finals-game-2-recap-the-third-quarter-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Game 2<\/a>. They will travel to Oracle Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"vh2IzP1MRFhFCwQJ_khXRA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1128586615\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'vh2IzP1MRFhFCwQJ_khXRA',sig:'_zwB_PJ4rbvoOejNSACIAaM2daKfO3kIKEqhnxZQ5xw=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1128586615',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto Raptors fans, rejoice. It was reported Monday afternoon that superstar Kawhi Leonard has purchased property in Toronto. Though it could be a coincidence, it seems likely that Leonard may plan to stay in Canada for at least the short-term future. Kawhi Leonard Reportedly Purchased Property in Toronto The Report It was first reported by\u00a0Michael [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3009,"featured_media":21402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,3,14],"tags":[168,318],"class_list":["post-21394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-raptors","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-toronto-raptors"],"modified_by":"Tyler Marling","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}