Kawhi Leonard is our scumbag now

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Kawhi Leonard is a scumbag.

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SIMMONS: Kawhi Leonard is our scumbag now Back to video

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Considering all that needs to be done in professional sports and that sometimes you have to plug your nose to avoid the circumstances around you, understand this about the newest Toronto Raptor.

Kawhi is now our scumbag.

With him, once the trade for Leonard becomes official, the Raptors enter the land of contenders in the NBA. Without Kawhi, they were middle-of-the-road mush — a good team heading nowhere.

Now they hold their breath, bring in a 35-year-old Leonard who is still a great NBA player, hope he can stay healthy enough to be a difference-maker, hope he can teach Scottie Barnes and company the difference between playing in the NBA and winning, hope he doesn’t quit on the Raptors the way he once quit on San Antonio.

Which eventually forced the trade to Toronto at a time when nobody else in the NBA was willing to give up much of anything for Kawhi.

Smell nothing when you’re trying to win

Why did the Raptors do it back then? Masai Ujiri told him on the day they first met after the deal was made. Ujiri believed Leonard to be the best player in basketball, if healthy. He is that rare player who can produce offence, can score late in games, can play exceptional defence. Maybe once in the past 25 years, a team has won an NBA championship without having an A-superstar in their lineup. You don’t win in the NBA without one. The Raptors are banking two first-round draft picks and two rather disposable players in exchange for the disgraced Kawhi, who now publicly welcomes a return to Toronto.

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Which is kind of funny considering how he first arrived, not wanting to be here, then left on Larry Tanenbaum’s plane to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, and was central to the largest salary scandal in basketball history.

You plug your nose and smell nothing because that’s what you do when you’re trying to win.

The Argos did it with quarterback Chad Kelly a few years ago. They could have let him go for a variety of reasons: Kelly remains just about the most talented, if not least aware, quarterback in Canadian football.

The Blue Jays did it with Pete Walker. Just recently, Tony Romo lost his job with CBS because he was caught drunk driving. There’s a long list of American college coaches in football and basketball who have been fired after they were caught drunk driving.

How did the Blue Jays respond to Walker’s situation? A slap on the wrist for Walker, their pitching coach. They basically ignored the fact that it happened, and nobody ever mentions it anywhere.

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Raps have struggled to find their place since 2019 win

Because the Jays want to win and the Argos want to win, and now the Raptors, who have struggled to find their place in the NBA since the amazing championship run of 2019, want to win as well.

Tanenbaum is no longer chairman of the board of the NBA or minority owner of the Raptors. Ujiri has gone to the Dallas Mavericks. This is Edward Rogers and Tony Staffieri in the position of ownership, with Bobby Webster pulling the basketball strings and Keith Pelley pushing the win-now philosophy.

All this is banked on a 35-year-old who taught all of us what winning basketball looked like in 2019. It was something incredible to see.

The off-balance shot he hit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 2 of the playoffs will be legendary forever. The Raptors were a bounce, bounce, bounce away from being eliminated in the playoffs.

Then came Kawhi against the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo against Leonard. One of the best vs. one of the best.

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The Raptors, you may not remember, lost the first two games against the Bucks. Leonard appeared to be struggling physically. A championship season was about to end.

Then Game 3 went to overtime. Then double overtime. And when it ended, Kawhi had played 52 minutes basically on one leg, scored 36 points, and brought the Raptors back in the series. And after that, they won three straight to move on to the Finals.

Leonard went on to win his second Finals MVP. The list of those who have won more than two: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan. Basically, basketball royalty.

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Team has chance to contend with Kawhi

In his career, Leonard has played in 28 playoff series in 14 NBA seasons. His team has won 19 of those 28 series. He has won two championships with two very different teams (and was a Ray Allen Miami miracle shot away from a third).

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The emerging Barnes, heading to the sixth year of his career, has never won a playoff series. He’s only been in two of them. He was the best player on the floor against Cleveland last May — the Raptors still couldn’t advance with him.

The Eastern Conference of the NBA has become a powerhouse of sorts. Giannis has gone to Miami. LeBron James is in Philadelphia. The New York Knicks are defending champions. Boston is Boston. There’s a lot to deal with here.

The Raptors have a chance to contend with Kawhi. They had no chance to contend without him. Now they hold their breath, hoping and trusting in a player they didn’t always trust, realizing the mess they have made for themselves. A mess they certainly hope will not explode all over them.

ssimmons@postmedia.com

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