The NBA Cup Game That Just Became More Difficult for the Magic

After a successful run in the Emirates NBA Cup last season that saw them go 4-0 in group play before losing to the New York Knicks in the semifinals, the Orlando Magic are looking to recapture that success during next season’s Cup.

The Magic will be in Group A, and their opponents will be the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons. Facing the Raptors first, the challenge for Orlando became much greater.

This is attributed to Kawhi Leonard, whose trade to the Raptors from the Los Angeles Clippers this summer was put on hold due to the ongoing investigation into his involvement with the Clippers in circumventing the salary cap. On Wednesday, a verdict was released, and ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania shared the details of the punishment, the majority of which is being laid on the Clippers.

Leonard will be responsible for paying $700,000 in restitution, but he will avoid suspension or having his contract voided. This means that Leonard is expected to suit up for the Raptors, and the Magic will face them in Toronto on Oct. 30 to kick off their slate of NBA Cup games.

The presence of Leonard being added to a highly talented and youthful Raptors squad will make the challenge for Orlando more significant. The good news for the Magic is that they will play Toronto on the road on Oct. 28 as well, in what will be a standard regular-season game, which will give them a chance to get acclimated to their opponent before a higher-stakes matchup.

In the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I broke down what Leonard being added to the Raptors means for Orlando:

"The Clippers got hit with the bulk of the punishment. They have to surrender five first-round picks. I believe Steve Ballmer is being fined $30 million, and he, along with Lawrence Frank and one other executive —forgive me, the name is escaping me — are being suspended. Meanwhile, Leonard is only facing a $700,000 fine and will not be suspended, which means that the trade to the Toronto Raptors that was supposed to be facilitated around the beginning of free agency but couldn't will now go through. Leonard will be reunited with the Raptors.

And this is interesting for the Magic because they have consecutive games right in the beginning of the season, before the end of October, in which they will play at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto against the Raptors. One is just a normal regular-season game, but then the other one kicks off NBA Cup play. And I've talked about this; I've written about it, that so much of that Cup game is going to be dependent on whether Leonard is playing. 

And if Leonard's playing, that's going to make things a lot more difficult for the Magic, right? Like, this is a very talented Raptors team, a young Raptors team that, like Orlando, is trying to take the next step. And now, given all his flaws, objectively on the floor, they now are adding, when healthy, one of the best basketball players of this generation and one of the ultimate two-way threats. I understand that given Leonard's history, there's always cause for concern with his health.

But again, these games are going to occur before the end of October; he should be out there; we expect him to be out there. And that is going to make things much more challenging for the Magic. And they're going to have to try to navigate him, along with a Scottie Barnes, you know, and the other players, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, so on and so forth, who are on this team.

I mean, the Toronto Raptors do not win a championship in 2019 without Kawhi Leonard on the team. And that is why they took a bet on him."