Kawhi Leonard out vs. Timberwolves with knee swelling

About 30 minutes before the bad news, the league's own account was hyping Kawhi going through his pregame routine at Target Center.

NBA

@NBA

Kawhi Leonard (19.5 PPG, 3.5 SPG) warms up before tonight's matchup in Minnesota 🔥 🆚 TOR/MIN 📺 7:00pm/et, NBA TV t.co/oBzVStmL8N

Then he never made it to the court. Leonard went through warmups, the knee apparently didn't like it, and Toronto added him to the injury report late. It's his first missed game of the regular season, and that's 3 games into the regular season. Anybody who lived through the Clippers years has seen this one before.

Marc Stein

@TheSteinLine

The Raptors say Kawhi Leonard (left knee swelling) is OUT tonight at Minnesota.

This is the season Toronto was paying for. The Raptors agreed to bring Kawhi back from the Clippers on June 30, sending out Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a pile of picks, including unprotected firsts in 2031 and 2033. The deal then sat in limbo for months while the NBA investigated the Clippers for salary cap circumvention tied to Leonard's contract. It didn't go through until mid-September, and Leonard ate a $700,000 fine on the way out of LA.

On the floor, the reunion had started fine. Leonard put up 23 points in his Raptors re-debut in the opening win over Chicago, then 19 against Washington on Friday. He's averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, though he's shooting just 32.4% from the field. So it hasn't been pretty, but he's been the guy, and Toronto is 2-0.

So who takes his minutes? The Raptors beat guys pointed to the obvious answer right away.

Josh Lewenberg

@JLew1050

Kawhi Leonard is a late scratch for tonight’s game in Minnesota. He’s OUT with left knee swelling. Would imagine Walter starts in his place.

That's Ja'Kobe Walter, who's now stuck with a tough matchup. Minnesota is also 2-0 after road blowouts in Miami and Orlando, and Sunday is the first regular-season look at the Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball backcourt at Target Center. Ball dropped 21 points with 5 threes in his Wolves debut against the Heat, and Edwards has been scoring 30 a night. Without Kawhi, Toronto doesn't have anybody who can match that on the wing.

The real question is what comes next. Swelling is a vague word, and nobody has said anything yet about imaging or a timeline. With Leonard's history, Raptors fans are going to watch every update on this knee. If it turns out to be a 1-game precaution, nobody will remember it. If it doesn't, the most expensive reunion in franchise history just hit its first bump 3 games in.