Raptors' Decision to Trade Brandon Ingram Proven Right With Latest Injury Update

The Toronto Raptors paid a steep price to reunite with superstar Kawhi Leonard, sending multiple draft picks and two players in Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to the Los Angeles Clippers during the offseason.

Obviously, it was worth it with Leonard not only back with the team who he won it all with in 2019 but also there to stay after reaching an agreement with Toronto on a two-year, $115 million extension.

Going back to Ingram, the 29-year-old forward led the Raptors with 21.5 points per game while also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his lone season with the franchise.

Including him in the package that landed them Leonard appears to have been the right call  by Toronto with doctors discovering that Ingram had suffered a partially torn Achilles tendon and right heel injury back in May, which he later underwent surgery to address.

He shouldn't be out for a huge chunk of the season given that the tendon wasn't fully torn but he is nearing 30 which could spell trouble for him and L.A. down the road.

Still, Leonard has had his fair share of injury struggles throughout his career with him only playing 65 games for the Clippers this past season while missing 45 games the year prior due to knee inflammation.

When the 35-year-old Leonard is healthy, he is on it and can still propel his team to wins as needed unlike Ingram. Most recently, Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting an efficient 50.5% from the field and converting on 89.2% of attempts at the free throw line.

The trade should benefit both players though in a sense that Ingram should get a bigger role on a Clippers team with no high draft picks or anything to tank for over the next five years while Leonard gets to try for at least one more ring during the twilight years of his career.

With the Raptors poised to make a return to Eastern Conference dominance, Leonard gets the slight edge here given that he will be surrounded by other reliable offensive threats like Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles who are projected to have breakout seasons of their own.

Furthermore, Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković seems to have the full buy-in of his players, a great sign for Leonard's commitment to the organization going forward.

Leonard and Ingram will be back in action on their respective teams in late October as the NBA season approaches.