Kawhi Leonard Shows Up for Raptors Before Trade Becomes Official

A group of Toronto Raptors players is in Miami this week for a minicamp that is not an official team event, and Jake Fischer reported Tuesday that Kawhi Leonard is there with them.

The trade that sends him back to Toronto was agreed to on June 30, and more than two months later it still is not official, so Leonard is spending September next to players he cannot yet call teammates.

"Kawhi Leonard, sources say, is in Miami among an organized minicamp of Raptors players. Toronto is waiting for Los Angeles to move forward with the agreed-upon trade that Leonard and the Raptors expect to be completed," Fischer wrote.

Marc Stein added that Leonard is limited to individual workouts while he is there, because the deal is not done and he still belongs to Los Angeles on paper.

The package has not changed since June, with Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first round picks in 2031 and 2033, two second round picks and a 2027 swap going to the Clippers.

The league finished its investigation on Sept. 2, took five future first round picks from the Clippers, fined them $30 million, suspended owner Steve Ballmer for a year and Lawrence Frank for six months, and ordered Leonard to pay $700,000.

Fischer and Stein reported Tuesday that the Clippers are still working through their new front office structure after those suspensions, which is the main reason the trade has not been filed.

Until it is, the Toronto roster still lists Ingram and his $40 million salary, along with Dick, and the pairing everyone has been waiting on, Leonard next to Scottie Barnes, is still a projection rather than a fact.

A September minicamp does not decide anything in April, but Leonard choosing to be around this roster early still tells us something.

He turned 35 in June and averaged 27.9 points in 65 games last season on the way to the All-NBA second team, so the trip is less about conditioning and more about getting a feel for teammates like Immanuel Quickley, who averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 assists in 70 games last season.

The younger pieces gain the most from having him in the gym early, and Toronto has a couple of players with a real shot at a leap this season.

Shams Charania reported last week that the Raptors expect to sign him to an extension once the trade goes through, and a player who had doubts about the move would not be in Miami on his own time.

He was the best player on the only championship team in franchise history, and that run is still the standard in Toronto.

Media day is Sept. 28, and camp opens the next day in Quebec City and runs through Oct. 2.

The preseason opens Oct. 3 against the Heat at Videotron Centre, and the Raptors face the Clippers in Vancouver on Oct. 10, which would be his first look at his old team if the deal is done.

The Clippers still have time to sort out their front office, but nobody in Toronto seems to be waiting around.