After reaching the pinnacle and winning the NBA championship last June, the Toronto Raptors saw the two former San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, depart this summer for the bright lights of Los Angeles. The two-time Finals MVP made his way to the Clippers, while Danny Green signed with the Lakers.

Their departures leave a gaping hole in Toronto's wing positions. Norman Powell sees this as an opportunity for himself, per Steven Loung of SportsNet.

“I see this opportunity in front of me and I’m doing everything I can to prepare myself both mentally and physically for this upcoming season so that I can prove to the coaches and prove to the organization that I belong in a bigger role,” Powell said. “There’s a lot of opportunity out there for everybody. Not just myself, but everybody who wants to take that next step in their career. Everybody’s really excited, everybody’s really pumped up, everybody’s working towards that.”

Despite playing behind Green and Leonard, Powell was still a key piece in Toronto's title run in 2019. With Green struggling mightily with his shot in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Powell came through for them in Games 2 to 4. This included a massive 19-point, 7-of-13 shooting performance in a must-win Game 3 that kept Toronto alive in the series. Through that three game stretch, Powell averaged 13 points and 4.5 rebounds in over 28 valuable minutes off the bench for the Raptors.

Surely, the loss of Green, and most especially Leonard, will affect Toronto drastically. They are by no means title contenders any more.

However, their departures open the opportunity for Powell to take on a much bigger role next season. It's up to him to prove that he's worth the four-year $42-million investment for the Raptors.