NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors May Clean House If Kawhi Leonard Signs Elsewhere

The Toronto Raptors seem to be doing fine as we speak, but the landscape may change drastically after the 2018-19 NBA season. There is no certainty on whether they will still have Kawhi Leonard after this season, and there are some parties who believe that the Raptors may opt to clean house – including trade Kyle Lowry to start from scratch.

This is a scenario that is being suggested by Larry Brown Sports in the event that Leonard does end up hooking with another team after the current NBA season. This is an assumption that most already knew ever since Toronto traded DeMar DeRozan for the 27-year-old forward back in July 2018. And while most focused on how the Raptors were trying to persuade him to stay, a total overhaul may instead be happening.

Should this happen, Lowry could be traded off as well as the Raptors look to start fresh. In the previous NBA seasons, the Raptors have performed well in the regular season but would sputter come to the postseason wars. For the 2018-19 NBA season, it remains to be seen if that trend continues.

With a set formula of relying heavily on Lowry and Leonard (previously on DeRozan) failing to hit its stride for an entire season, starting fresh and in a different direction is not farfetched. So not only is Leonard one of the high profile free agents most teams would go after, Lowry could be another big name in the market, Clutchpoints.com noted.

The Raptors continue to try ways to convince Leonard to stay. But with no certainty, one alternative for Toronto is to test the market for Lowry. Though it is not really about immediately trading the 32-year-old guard, the Raptors can more or less see what assets they could get.

Seeing that the February NBA trade deadline is nearing, there could be some suitors for Lowry. However, there are certain things about Lowry that will come into play. One is that the Raptors star guard seems to be dealing with a back injury.

According to ESPN, Lowry recently had pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections for his back. There is no timetable on when he will return to action as he continues to battle lower back soreness.

This may serve as another setback for the Raptors in their quest to prove to Leonard that they can stay competitive with him and Lowry leading the charge. So far, they are second in the Eastern Conference with a 28-11 record. It remains to be seen if this would be enough for them to convince Leonard and avoid blowing up the Raptors' core for new blood next season.