Kawhi Leonard's highly anticipated return to the Toronto Raptors has already hit an early snag, with the two-time Finals MVP now expected to miss multiple weeks due to swelling in his left knee.
Leonard was a late scratch ahead of Sunday's game against the Timberwolves after the issue emerged before tipoff. The Raptors fell 117-94, marking their first loss of the season.
Toronto announced Tuesday that medical imaging revealed no acute injury, offering a brief sigh of relief, but ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Leonard is expected to miss "a period of weeks" nonetheless.
Stephen A. Smith had a harsh reaction to the news on Tuesday's "First Take," renewing his criticism of the star's availability.
"This is the worst superstar in the history of sports," Smith said. "He gets paid hundreds of millions of dollars. He is a veteran. He knows exactly what it takes to be ready. But he is the master at getting over ... He should give masterclasses on how to get paid without working. There has been no one better, no one better than Kawhi Leonard at getting paid for not working.
"What were you doing in the offseason to make sure you were ready for this upcoming season?" Smith added. "You knew eventually you would get traded. You knew you were going to end up in Toronto because you dictated where you wanted to go. You knew all of this stuff, and yet here we are. We ain't even two weeks in and the brother is already getting more time off. You can't make it up. It's unbelievable."
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Leonard's move back to Toronto was one of the biggest stories in the NBA this offseason. He returned seven years after leading the Raptors to their first championship, but his departure from Los Angeles was complicated by an ongoing investigation into alleged salary-cap circumvention between him and the Clippers organization.
In September, the league found that the team had violated compensation rules through endorsement arrangements and other benefits connected to Leonard. He was required to pay the league $700,000, while the Clippers were hit with a $30 million fine, lost five future first-round draft picks, and owner Steve Ballmer was dealt a one-year suspension.
Leonard's latest injury brings back into focus the biggest concern that's followed him throughout his Hall of Fame career. Leonard suffered a partial ACL tear in 2021, missed the entire 2021-22 season, and later dealt with a meniscus tear in 2023. He also experienced repeated knee inflammation and other issues, though he played in 65 games last season.
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When healthy, Leonard remains one of the best and most accomplished players in the NBA, with two championships, two Finals MVPs, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, seven All-Star nods, and seven All-NBA honors. The problem is, to Smith's point, teams can't consistently depend on him to stay on the court. Over his entire NBA career, Leonard has yet to play a full 82-game season, and the last time he was in Toronto, he only appeared in 60 regular-season games.