Like most NBA fans, a consultant for the Toronto Raptors knew that the Kawhi Leonard trade was a ‘high risk, high reward deal' considering the situation Leonard occupied during that time.

Per Terry Pluto of cleveland.com, Wayne Embry — a former NBA player and executive — who is now a consultant for the Raptors, knew of the risk of trading for Leonard. To recall, Leonard was the one who requested a trade from the San Antonio Spurs after rumors emerged that the former Finals MVP was not seeing eye to eye with the team's medical staff. In his request, he particularly wished to be traded to Los Angeles — his home town.

“Then the trade for Kawhi (Leonard) came up,” said Embry. “We talked about it a lot. It was a high risk/high reward deal.”

Embry added that Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri pushed the trade, confident that Leonard was one of the top players in the league.

“Masai believed Kawhi was one of the top five players in the NBA when healthy,” said Embry. “We knew it was a risk, but we also knew we had a chance to do something special. So Masai and the rest of us said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Masai drove the decision.”

As they say, the rest is history. It's uncertain if Kawhi Leonard will sign a long-term deal with the Raptors. But in his first year donning a Raptors jersey, the team created something special. Now, the Raptors are ahead 3-1 in the NBA Finals, just a win away from toppling the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.