LOS ANGELES—There is nothing but appreciation and thanks from Kawhi Leonard for the magical season he spent in Toronto with a team — and in a country — that he took to unprecedented heights.No animosity, no “I couldn’t wait to get out of Canada” blather. None of that stuff and a ton of “Wow, we did something special.”“I was just telling someone the other day, it’s shocking to me how many Canadians do live here or are just visiting,” Leonard said Saturday at the Los Angeles Clippers’ training facility in Playa Vista. “Just walking around, people say I’m from Toronto or Winnipeg or these different cities in Canada. You never know unless you go play up there and they recognize your talent from playing with the Raptors.”What Leonard does know is that what he did in one year with Toronto was historic and dramatic and franchise-altering. After missing all but nine games of the 2017-18 season, he was traded away from San Antonio — the only city he’d played in — and made the most of it. And Monday night’s game against the Raptors will have some extra meaning.“It’s a former team I won a championship with, but it’s any other game,” Leonard said, with the sense that it’s a bit more than “any other game.”“It’s going to be fun to see the guys again, and just congratulate them and be able to shake hands and compete.”No matter what happens in the future, now that he’s back in his hometown and on another stacked championship-calibre team, the special memories will linger.“The guys, the journey, you know what I mean?” he said when asked about the best memories he carries with him. “Also the country, the city, it was amazing. Just so much, you can keep going on and on.”But those days are gone, wistful memories of Toronto, a stepping stone to the third act in Leonard’s caree ...
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