Kawhi Leonard is back with the Toronto Raptors, but how soon until he’s actually back on the floor? 

It could be a little while here before he plays in formal competition. The Raptors have pretty much confirmed that Leonard won’t be playing on Saturday in Vancouver, where they play their second of five pre-season games. 

That makes it a good bet his first time playing with his new teammates against a live opponent will be next Tuesday, when the Raptors host the New York Knicks. There likely will only one more appearance after that since the Raptors' last two pre-season games are a back-to-back, first New York and then in Detroit on Friday, and we’ll just take a wild guess that Leonard will not be playing on consecutive nights in the pre-season.

The Raptors' reasoning for rationing out his pre-season minutes is sound, given that because the trade to acquire Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers was put on hold for more than two months this summer, the 35-year-old was held out of full-contact, live scrimmages. 

Leonard’s fitness seems fine — he said last week in Quebec City that he was already close to game shape — but getting into true basketball shape is another thing because there is no upside in taking unnecessary risks trying to rush anything. 

“I feel good (but) being smart, taking it slow, just getting familiar with everybody, getting their names right with each coach, (the) player development guys, learning the plays and, yeah, just learning everything that (head coach Darko Rajakovic) has been doing the past three or four years,” Leonard said on Tuesday, after going through his second full practice following a week of lighter work during training camp in Quebec City. “But it's been fun, and everybody's making sure that I understand everything, and they're just welcoming in. So, it's been a great transition.”

For Leonard, easing into the regular season is old hat. As he heads into his 15th season, he can likely dial his preparation for opening night — Oct. 23, in this case — down to the minute. Even in his first tour with the Raptors, in 2018-19, he played only three out of a possible five pre-season games, which is about the norm for him in the years he’s come to training camp healthy. 

The only year in the last eight he played more than three was in 2019-20, when he played in five of a possible eight pre-season games........

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