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Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri expressed confidence in re-signing Kawhi Leonard this offseason, claiming he's had a few positive meetings with him over the last few days. Yet the executive warned the decision is ultimately in the star's hands.
“But Kawhi is his own man,” said Ujiri, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “He’s shown us that since he got here. … I think we’ve built a trust.” “We will respect his decision.”
“I’ve had very good meetings with him the last few days.”
Ujiri reportedly worked hand-in-hand with Leonard to devise a plan of coming back from his partially-torn quad that forced him to miss 73 games of the 2017-18 season.
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Leonard played in only 60 games this past campaign, giving him enough gas and mileage to tackle the postseason head on, a plan that will likely had earned Ujiri some level of confidence that Leonard will feel comfortable returning to Toronto.
If Leonard decides to leave, this will be a gamble that Ujiri will have to pay for the rest of his tenure, as the chips in this roster will rapidly start to crumble with others like Kyle Lowry only having a year left in their contract.
Players like Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Danny Green can be poached as soon as this offseason if Leonard doesn't re-sign, and while Ujiri will have a championship ring to show for it, it is a gamble that could cost him his entire roster in the span of one year.
