Kawhi Leonard’s Ex-Teammate Reveals Stunning Admission on First Day As Raptor

Kawhi Leonard's former Toronto Raptors teammate Fred VanVleet revealed that Leonard never intended to stay in Toronto beyond a year.

Kawhi Leonard’s Ex-Teammate Reveals Stunning Admission on First Day As Raptor

Fred VanVleet (Left) and Kawhi Leonard (Right)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

It is a no-brainer that Kawhi Leonard had one of the greatest single-season stints in NBA history during his time with the Toronto Raptors. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year shocked everyone when he joined the Raptors following a blockbuster with the San Antonio Spurs in 2019. The “Klaw” left the Spurs not on the best of terms after a fallout with the club over his injury rehabilitation.

It was a risky move by the Raptors because, for all his credentials, Kawhi Leonard’s injury record was not promising as he was coming off a season where he played only nine games and was on a one-year contract and was hitting free agency in the summer. The trade did not cost the Spurs much as they sent DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl. In the end, it was a risk worth taking and it paid off.

During his time with the Raptors, Leonard was under load management in the regular season and ended up playing 60 games out of a possible 82. But he still went on to have an incredible season as he averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. In the playoffs, Leonard put in one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history and helped the Raptors win their first-ever NBA championship after beating the Golden State Warriors in six games.

His dominant performances in the finals earned him his second Finals MVP as he went on to average 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. After winning the championship, many expected Leonard to extend his stay in Toronto, but it did not happen as he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency.

Leonard’s Raptors teammate and current Houston Rockets star Fred VanVleet appeared on the ‘Hello and Welcome podcast’ and unveiled that the six-time NBA All-Star never intended to stay.

He did what he came to do and he said it from day one, ‘I am not staying here’. From day one, he said ‘I don’t know why they traded for me. I don’t want to be here. I’m not staying here. The city bowed down as we’ve never seen before, man. And so yes, as for us regular people, we can look at it and say, man, how could you leave that? But his mind was made up, man. Kawhi is Kawhi.

Leonard lived up to his word and ended up signing for the Clippers. But Raptors fan would have hoped to see more of him after a historic season in Toronto.

Kendrick Perkins on Kawhi Leonard’s time at the Clippers

It has been a horrid 2025-26 campaign for the Clippers. 26 games into the season, the Clippers find themselves at 14th in the Western Conference standings with an abysmal 6-20 record. Despite the likes of Leonard and James Harden averaging 25 and 26 points per game, respectively, Ty Lue and his men have struggled to find any rhythm so far. To make matters worse, the sudden waiving off of Chris Paul has only added fuel to the fire.

Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard (Image credits – ESPN)

Former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes the Clippers need to reset and start all over again.

It’s time to move on from Kawhi Leonard. It’s time for the Los Angeles Clippers to trade Kawhi Leonard. They have been trending downward since they signed him. Look at all they lost. They lost damn near everything. So when you think about how he’s set this franchise back 10-15 years, and you look at what OKC is doing and all the picks that they own. They need a reset, and that reset starts with moving on from Kawhi Leonard.

It has been six years since the Clippers made their move for Leonard and they have nothing to show for it. And with his injury struggles not going away, it may be wise for the franchise to move on from the 34-year-old and look into the future.

Kawhi Leonard and James Harden avoid the media after the loss to Memphis Grizzlies

It was another humiliating loss for the Clippers on Monday night as they succumbed to a 121-103 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies. A loss that just raises more doubts and questions around the franchise.

Leonard led the team with 21 points while Harden had a rough night scoring only 13 points to go along with six assists. According to reporter, Joey Linn left the arena after the loss and did not speak to the media.

It appears that it is only a matter of time before the Clippers decide to shut down their season and have some big decisions to make in the offseason.

Also Read: