Kawhi Leonard might be in Toronto for longer than one season this time.
The Raptors and Leonard are nearing agreement on a contract extension, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Thursday.
Leonard is eligible to sign a two-year deal for a maximum of $126.1 million that would take him through the 2028-29 season.
He is under contract this season for $50.3 million, the last of a three-year deal signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 35-year-old wing is coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 27.9 points and posted a 62.9 per cent true shooting mark for the Clippers to finish seventh in MVP voting.
Leonard arrived back in Toronto after a long-agreed-upon trade with the Clippers was made official on Monday. The Raptors sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round pick swap and two second-round picks back to the Clippers in the deal.
Toronto put the proposed trade on hold in July pending the outcome of the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation into the Clippers.
Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy reported that Leonard is waiving his entire 15 per cent trade kicker. The Raptors will still be hard-capped at the first apron.
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