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Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard says he isn't thinking about free agency. Instead, the two-time All-Star is remaining focused on the task at hand.
Leonard, now 27-years-old, can use the player option in his contract to enter the free agency foray after this season. Whether or not he'll choose to take that path remains to be seen.
“I'm not thinking about that,” Leonard told ESPN. “I'm focused on right now, what this is bringing for me and focused on the opportunity that I have here and what we can do this season. Later down the road, that's when I'll make my decision.”
Leonard made just nine appearances with the Spurs last season due to a quad injury. However, now that he's joined the Raptors, the former San Diego State stand-out is playing well once again.
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In 30 appearances with Toronto this season, Leonard has racked up averages of 27.3 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the field (36.1 percent from beyond the arc), 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.8 minutes per outing.
Though he's not ready to think about free agency just yet, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster tells ESPN that the organization is confident in the pitch it can make to Leonard once he's ready to discuss a new deal:
“When we came aboard six years ago, we wanted to bring this organization to a level where you can make this pitch,” Webster said. “So you have strength in excellence around the organization—the basketball side, the coaching staff, the medical and support staff, obviously ownership—to where when we have a superstar player, an MVP-candidate-type player, now we can go to him and say, ‘We are really confident in who we are, we're really proud of what we've built, and these are all the reasons why we think you should stay.'”
There will be several teams interested in Leonard's services after this season. Webster and the Raptors will be prepared.
