After a season that ended with a tough seven-game loss in the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors made one of the biggest moves of the early NBA offseason.
On June 30, Toronto acquired Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers. In return, they sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two second-round picks, a 2027 pick swap, and unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033 to LA. At 35 years old, Leonard views Toronto as his final stop in the NBA after winning a championship there in 2019.
This trade has reignited discussions about another potential homecoming. De Mar De Rozan, who leads the franchise’s scoring list with 13,296 points compared to Kyle Lowry’s 10,540 points, was actually traded away to get Leonard back then.
De Rozan and the Sacramento Kings might soon reach a buyout agreement, which would allow the 36-year-old to sign anywhere as a free agent.
According to Kelly Iko from Yahoo Sports on Wednesday, De Rozan is eager to expedite his exit and rival executives anticipate that the Kings will waive him. He is entering what will be his last season of a three-year contract signed in 2024.
De Rozan has also stirred up some excitement himself by liking an Instagram post that hinted at growing interest for his return to Toronto shortly after the Leonard trade. The post received around 13,000 likes. However, it’s unclear whether he was serious or just joking around with his social media activity.
Drafted ninth overall by Toronto in 2009, De Rozan was traded to the San Antonio Spurs alongside Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round pick in July 2018. In return for them came Leonard and Danny Green. This move followed an impressive season where Toronto finished first in the Eastern Conference with De Rozan as their top scorer at 59 wins and only 23 losses.
The trade proved worthwhile when Leonard won Finals MVP while leading Toronto to its championship victory during his single season with them. Meanwhile, De Rozan has been selected as an All-Star six times throughout his career and currently boasts over 26,711 points across his seventeen seasons while still seeking his first title.
During the last season with Sacramento in 2025-26, De Rozan played in 77 games where he averaged about 18.4 points along with four assists per game over approximately thirty-one minutes each night while shooting nearly fifty percent from field goal range for a team that ended up going twenty-two wins against sixty losses-finishing fourteenth in their conference.
While it seems like things could align perfectly for this reunion, nothing is confirmed yet or even appears imminent at this point. There hasn’t been any agreement between De Rozan and Sacramento so far; plus right now Toronto can only offer minimum contracts this summer should he become available.
This means that while it’s possible-and some signs suggest it could happen-it’s definitely not guaranteed just yet.
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