Where Do Raptors Rank in East with Kawhi Leonard?

The Kawhi Leonard saga is finally over... or at least taking a year-long break before he becomes a free agent in July 2019. The NBA world was shook in the early morning of July 18th with Leonard being traded to the Toronto Raptors for a package centered around DeMar DeRozan.

In all, the trade sent Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green north of the border, while the San Antonio Spurs received DeRozan, forward Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick.


With some potential re-working still on the way, the Raptors current starting five is interesting to say the least. Leonard would be surrounded by Kyle Lowry at point guard, Green or C.J. Miles at shooting guard, Serge Ibaka at power forward, and Jonas Valanciunas at center. It's not the superteam the Warriors are building in Golden State, but it's a collection of above average basketball players.

(Note: This article is based under the assumption a healthy Kawhi plays in Toronto. There are rumors he may still sit out the season)

Where will the Raptors Finish in the East?

With Leonard on the roster, do the Raptors become Eastern Conference contenders? With the gap left by LeBron's departure, could Toronto grab the reigns of the conference?

The Raptors finished first in the East last year at 59-23, second in the NBA only to the Houston Rockets. Toronto had a better regular season record last season than the Golden State Warriors.

So with Leonard in tow, there's no where to go but up right? Not quite.

I do expect the Raptors to finish in the same general win range of 55-60 wins. But the problem is the rest of the rising East. 

Last year the Boston Celtics finished four games behind the Raptors at 55-27. But they did this of course without Gordon Hayward, and in the late season, without Kyrie Irving. Couple this with an additional year of experience for Boston's young core, and you have a legitimately scary team next year. The Celtics also went further in last year's playoffs than the Raptors, pushing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Where will the Kawhi Leonard and the new-look #Raptors finish in the East in the 2018-2019 season?

— Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) July 18, 2018

For these reasons, the Celtics enter the season as the de facto favorites for both the best regular season record in the East as well as winning the conference in the playoffs. If we put the Raptors in the 55-60 win range, the Celtics will outpace them in the 60-65 win range.

So will the Raptors slide to being the second best team in the East, even though they added one of the best two-way players in the league?

They'll be in stiff competition for the second seed in the East with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers closed last season on a 16-game win streak to finish 52-30, third in the conference and two games ahead of the Cavaliers. Between the seasoning of the Joel Embiid/Ben Simmons duo, Philly will also look to get healthier, in regards to Embiid as well as Markelle Fultz.

I predict these improvements to nudge Philadelphia into the same win category as the Raptors: 55-60 games. And this might optimistic to consider the Raptors and 76ers equals. On paper, the 76ers have a deeper roster and the dynamic young Simmons-Embiid duo.

So expect the Raptors to finish 2nd or 3rd in the East, definitely behind the Celtics, but jockeying for position with the 76ers. I do think Toronto's current roster should rank them ahead of the Wizards and Bucks, the only other team that might leapfrog the Raptors in the standings would be the Indiana Pacers, if everything clicks for them.

Prediction

1. Boston Celtics 62-20

2. Philadelphia 76ers 58-24

3. Toronto Raptors 56-26

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