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Why Kawhi Leonard Should Stay in Canada

Well, Kawhi Leonard, you’ve really done it now.

You’ve gone ahead and won the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship.

You were so, so great, the Finals MVP. You’re the quiet stranger who changed basketball in Canada. Now you’re about to be a free agent, with the chance to leave and chart your own course.

We’re going to respectfully ask you to stay. It’s your call, of course, but it’s the correct call. Please, Kawhi.

Run it back with Canada. Don’t abandon the happy dinosaurs, still floating after knocking off the Golden State Warriors Thursday night.

If you were hoping to slip out the back door without anyone noticing, that’s not possible now. The Raptors traded for you last summer, after things got ugly in San Antonio, and you didn’t get a say in that deal. The presumption was you would endure a season up in the frozen north, then wind your way to where you really wanted to go—perhaps a warm destination in Southern California, where you are from.

But you know the correct destination, Kawhi. You’re already there.

This is a perfect marriage, between a low-key superstar and a franchise and city that understands him. The Raptors didn’t just embrace you. They became you. The whole outfit is modest, mellow, hard-working, all business. The Raptors may not have been a popular preseason pick to win this title, but they believed.

.. We love that you’re chill. That you don’t say much. This is a hyper-verbal society. We’ve all got too much to say, to the point all the words and syllables grind into a dull, meaningless noise. That’s not your deal. When you speak, it means something. It matters. You’re old-school that way.

But it isn’t just your silent mien. Your whole style is understated. Your game is electric, but you’ve never been about the sizzle. You’re sponsored by New Balance, for crying out loud. The Yeezys of dentists. It’s perfect.

You’re a national treasure now in Canada. That kind of statement probably makes you uncomfortable. You’re the most important Raptor in franchise history, after one season. Teams throw up statues for lesser accomplishments.

You don’t owe Toronto anything. We should be clear about that. They know what they traded for, the terms, and the possibility you could leave. You’ve earned the right. It’s an important milestone in a player’s career, and all of us would want to take a look around.

So look around! There are openings throughout the league. There’s long been speculation that you’d wind up with the Los Angeles Clippers, who are on the way up, but are also, you know, the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, there’s also space across the hall with LeBron James’s Lakers, but you don’t want any part of that. They’re like the Bizarro Raptors; everything about the Lakers is backward.

You could try Brooklyn. It’s nice in Brooklyn. There’s a lot of yoga.

Of course, you could be a Knick. But, and we’ve said this before, friends don’t let friends become Knicks. Besides, the Knicks now have the opportunity to give a max contract to an aging player with a ruptured Achilles tendon, and that is probably too enticing a possibility for them to turn down.

You already know the correct move, Kawhi. Yes, you are under no obligation. Toronto will probably retire your number, even if you leave. Yes, there are tax issues with playing across the border, but we’re going to give you the number for the Journal’s tax genius, Richard Rubin, who might have some ideas. I don’t know if Richard knows Canadian tax laws, but he probably knows someone who does.

The future is where you are, Kawhi. How many athletes get to make an indelible bond like the one you’ve made in Toronto? You’re as big as Tim Horton. Drake calls you.

You’ve written the fairy tale, Kawhi. Now write the sequel. Up north.