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Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard told teammate Serge Ibaka that he “doesn’t know” whether he will return to the team after this season:
Chris Walder @WalderSports
Serge Ibaka asked Kawhi Leonard if he was going to stay with the Toronto Raptors. Here’s how that played out:
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Leonard can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer.
The interaction occurred on Ibaka’s YouTube show “How Hungry Are You?” The Raptors big man interviews teammates and serves them an eclectic range of foods on the series.
The entire Leonard episode can be found here:
The Raptors went 58-24, good enough for the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. Leonard averaged a career-high 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 60 games. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year also amassed 1.8 steals per contest.
The three-time All-Star played seven seasons with the San Antonio Spurs before an offseason trade sent him to Toronto. Leonard and the Spurs did not end on good terms, as Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com outlined.
There haven’t been reported issues in Toronto, where the team is enjoying tremendous success. Those factors could conceivably play a role in Leonard staying with the Raptors, although Stephen A. Smith of ESPN is convinced Leonard will head back home to Southern California and play for the Los Angeles Clippers next season:
Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com reported on Jan. 3 that league executives believe Leonard will choose between the Clips and Raps.
Regardless of which team lands the two-way superstar, Leonard, Ibaka and the Raptors have some work to do. Toronto begins its quest to win the NBA Finals on Saturday when it hosts the first matchup of a seven-game series against the No. 7 seed Orlando Magic at 5 p.m. ET.
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