The initial report that came out after the Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard was that the former Spur has no desire to play in Toronto.
Obviously the risk of any team pulling the trigger on trading for Kawhi was signing him to a long-term deal due to his rumoured interest in playing for the Lakers, so the Raptors now have a year to convince Leonard to stay.
One of the things the Raptors actually have working for them is that they can offer Kawhi more money than other teams and that may be enough to keep him, as per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski:
"Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is taking a significant risk in pursuing the trade. Ujiri will make the deal with a determination that he can sell Leonard on re-signing with the Raptors next summer in free agency, sources said. Toronto would be able to offer Leonard a five-year, $190 million contract next summer. If Leonard left the Raptors, he could sign a four-year, $141 million deal with a team with the available salary-cap space."
If Kawhi wants to play for the team that can offer him the most money, that team is surprisingly the Raptors. Based on the rumours, though, it seems like there's a lot more to this huge decision for Leonard.
(H/T: ESPN)
