TORONTO — Over to you, Alex McKechnie. 

Over to you, Darko Rajakovic. 

Over to you, Scottie Barnes. 

Over to you, Kawhi Leonard’s 35-year-old knees. 

Bobby Webster got his part done.

Thanks to as big a swing as has been made on the Toronto sports scene since the last time they traded for Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors are a wholly different team heading into the 2026-27 season than they were just a week ago — or certainly since an injured and over-extended group came up short in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

After years of tip-toeing around landing one of the NBA’s big fish — a run Kevin Durant here, a swing for Dame Lillard there — the Raptors have landed one of the league’s ultimate whales. 

If all goes well, Leonard will — Toronto fans are hoping — be picking up where he left off when he departed the Raptors for the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency in the wee hours of July 2, 2019. 

Almost seven years later to the day, the Raptors reached an agreement on the framework of a trade that will see 2025 all-star Brandon Ingram, 2023 first-round pick Gradey Dick and unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a first-round pick swap in 2027, as well as second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 head to the Clippers for Leonard's services.

As well, it is expected that Leonard — who will earn $50.3 million this season — will get a two-year contract extension, which would likely be valued at about $126.1 million and would take the just-turned 35-year-old through his age-37 season. 

It’s a bold move that seemingly came out of nowhere, only bubbling up into the NBA rumour mill in the past week. It’s a remarkable statement of intent by Raptors executive vice president and general manager Webster in his first solo run through the off-season since taking over as head of basketball operations in the wake of former team president Masai Ujiri’s departure last summer. 

Webster received a five-year contract extension with the Raptors earlier this month and didn’t waste any time using the confidence the organization showed in him to make a high-risk, high-reward bet that has thrust the Raptors back into the heart of the NBA conversation in a way that hasn’t happened since before the pandemic. 

The immediate term benefits could be tremendous, with Leonard adding his all-NBA play from........

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