Raptors Reportedly Offer Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick for Kawhi Leonard: Is It Enough?
The Toronto Raptors are pushing hard to bring back their 2019 championship hero.
Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints reported Monday that Toronto is offering forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, and a future first-round pick to the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers, per the report, have so far declined, and they are pushing for Raptors 21-year-old forward Collin Murray-Boyles as an additional piece.
This trade has been simmering for a week. The Raptors have made it clear they want a reunion with Leonard, the man who delivered them their only NBA title. Kawhi has reportedly been open to extending with Toronto. The question is what it costs to get him there.
Toronto’s offer, on paper, is real value. Brandon Ingram is 28 years old and coming off an All-Star season where he averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He is a bona fide starting-caliber wing on a reasonable contract. Gradey Dick is only 22 and had a rough shooting year, but he averaged 14.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game the season before at only 21 years old. He remains a solid long-term shooter with real upside.
Add a future first-round pick and that is a mature package for a soon-to-be-35-year-old superstar with an extensive injury history. The Clippers should consider it strongly.
They have not. The reporting says they want more, specifically Murray-Boyles, who just turned 21 and has drawn rave reviews as a two-way player with defensive versatility and scoring potential. He was one of the Raptors’ most promising young pieces this past season, and losing him hurts Toronto’s long-term outlook considerably.
The problem for the Clippers is that Kawhi’s value is complicated. He averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game last season across 72 appearances, which is a Herculean total for a player who has managed his workload for years. He is entering the final year of his contract at $50.3 million and will hit free agency in 2027 unless he re-signs.
If the Clippers hold onto Leonard and he walks next summer for nothing, that is a disaster. If they trade him now for less than they think he’s worth, they take a smaller haul. It is a real dilemma, and the front office in Los Angeles is going to be under serious pressure to make a decision one way or the other before the season starts.
The Raptors’ pitch is also emotional. Leonard famously left Toronto after the 2019 championship to sign with the Clippers, and Raptors fans have been waiting for a redemption arc ever since. Bringing him back would be a story every media outlet in Canada would run for weeks. Toronto ownership would love that. The team would love that. Kawhi himself has reportedly been open to it.
There is also a wild card. Recent reporting has linked Leonard to the Dallas Mavericks in a surprise trade scenario. Dallas has been quietly gauging the market on Leonard as a potential co-star for Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic. That deal is a longshot but not impossible.
The most likely outcome remains Toronto. The pieces fit. The narrative fits. The only remaining question is whether the Clippers hold out for more, or whether they take the very real package Toronto has put on the table and move on.
Get it done, LA. Get the picks, get the depth, and let Kawhi go home.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
