Although Kawhi Leonard has yet to speak to local media following his trade to the Toronto Raptors, team president Masai Ujiri insists that the former NBA Finals MVP is healthy and motivated.
"He is determined and seems in the right frame of mind," Ujiri told the Associated Press. "You will be hearing from him shortly. I think there is a fire inside of him and we are all excited about that."
Ujiri also said he's not concerned about having to cater to Leonard.
"There is nothing we are going to do different. We are going to be ourselves. I think the situation with him in San Antonio, which I don't want to talk about because I don't know much about it, but he's a quiet kid," he said. "That's his nature. We can't all be the same kind of people. But he is as engaging as he would want to be and he's very interesting. There is no maintenance with him. There are no tons of people around him. His (focus) is on basketball, which is what you want. He is a basketball junkie."
Leonard has visited Toronto multiple times since being traded and has worked out with the team's coaches in Los Angeles during the offseason. He'll slide in alongside Kyle Lowry to form the head of the Raptors' attack when the upcoming season gets underway.
Ujiri said Lowry, who saw his good friend DeMar DeRozan shipped to San Antonio in the deal for Leonard, took the trade hard, but believes the point guard will be ready to go when training camp opens next week.
"Kyle is close to DeMar and he's going to be sensitive," he said. "That was a blow to him. I think basketball-wise Kyle is always ready, he's always going to be ready, he's training hard and he'll be ready."
