VanVleet: Kawhi said he wouldn't stay with Raptors on Day 1
The Toronto Raptors never stood a chance of retaining Kawhi Leonard after their 2019 championship, according to Fred VanVleet.
The current Houston Rockets guard and former Raptor revealed that he was never upset with Leonard's decision to leave after one title-winning season because the forward had always been adamant he wouldn't stay in Toronto.
"He said it from Day 1: 'I'm not staying here,'" VanVleet told William Lou and Alex Wong of the "Hello and Welcome" podcast Monday. "From Day 1: 'I don't know why they traded for me. I don't want to be here. I'm not staying here.'
"Now, Toronto put their best bid in. The city bowed down like we've never seen before. ... Yes, for us regular people, we can look at it and say, 'How could you leave that?' ... But his mind was made up. Kawhi is Kawhi."
The Raptors acquired Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs ahead of the 2018-19 season. Despite winning his second Finals MVP and leading the Raptors in the 2019 playoffs with 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, Leonard opted to return home in free agency that summer, signing a three-year, $103-million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA is now investigating allegations that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap when Leonard re-signed with them by paying him via a no-show deal with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt sustainability company.
VanVleet is currently sidelined after tearing his ACL during the preseason. He remained with Toronto for another four seasons after the championship, becoming a full-time starter and earning his first All-Star selection in 2022. He signed a three-year, $130-million contract with Houston in July 2023, something the undrafted guard credits Leonard for helping make possible.
"I thank him eternally for helping us win a championship and carrying us to a moment to where I can be solidified and go on to make a ton of money, and we're forever indebted to him for that," VanVleet added. "But yes, you could look back and say, 'Ooh, we wish he would have did this, wish he would've did that,' but I'm just thankful we got the job done. He changed a lot of people's lives."