Raptors Rumors: TOR Using Paul George Trade as Blueprint to Retain Kawhi Leonard

The Toronto Raptors acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs during the offseason knowing that he could leave as a free agent at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, but they are hoping to follow the lead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix on Tuesday, Toronto officials have privately acknowledged that Oklahoma City's ability to re-sign Paul George this past summer "emboldened" the franchise to pull the trigger on a deal for Leonard.

Leonard holds a $21.3 million player option for 2019-20 but could opt to become a free agent. He requested a trade after growing frustrated at the Spurs' handling of the quad injury that limited him to just nine games last season.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted at the time of Leonard's offseason trade request that Los Angeles was atop the Southern California native's wishlist. Instead, San Antonio sent the former NBA Finals MVP north of the border to Toronto.

It's oddly similar to the situation George found himself in from 2017-18. With a chance to become a free agent during the summer of 2018, he told the Indiana Pacers that he would not re-sign with them, giving the franchise a chance to get something in return for him via trade. Ultimately, the Thunder got a deal done in June 2017 by centering a package around Victor Oladipo.

That gave the Thunder one year to sell George on OKC—and it worked.

While George had envisioned himself in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, he re-signed with Oklahoma City at the start of free agency. In fact, he never even took a meeting with Magic Johnson and Co. And that's what the Raptors are hoping happens with Leonard.

Of course, it helps Toronto's chances that it can offer the two-time All-Star the most money in free agency. Wojnarowski previously reported the Raptors can offer Leonard a five-year deal worth $190 million; other teams would only be able to offer him four years and $141 million this summer.

Then again, perhaps money isn't going to be the deciding factor. The Spurs could have offered Leonard a $220 million supermax deal, but he decided it was worth sacrificing some money in order to get out of San Antonio.

Regardless of the speculation over Leonard's future, Toronto coach Nick Nurse wants the team's play to do the talking in its attempts to convince him to stick around.

"Us having a good team, a successful team and him being a super critical part of that, that’s all we can do," Nurse said of Leonard's free agency, per Mannix.

Toronto currently has an NBA-best 30 wins.