It has long been speculated that the Raptors believe they have a chance to keep Kawhi Leonard and that belief persists especially in light of what has happened in recent days.
The Raptors "remain confident" they will be on Leonard's list of possible destinations in free agency until the last possible moment, according to The Athletic.
Further still, according to The Athletic, the Raptors' seven-game series win over the 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals only increased the team's chances of keeping him.
Leonard all but carried Toronto to the conference finals where it will match up with the Bucks as he scored the second-most points ever by a player in a seven-game series with 243 (Michael Jordan, 1993), but that actually may be part of the reason the forward could be willing to stay.
The Raptors acquiesced to many of Leonard's requests this season, including giving him rest when he needed it and tailoring an offense toward the lengthy forward's skills.
That may be keeping them in the running to keep Leonard, though they reportedly have believed for a while they had a chance to retain him.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Toronto's hope to persuade Leonard to re-sign with the Raptors has been a lengthy process but one they were confident in.
"Kawhi Leonard just felt all along, it was going to take the full year to sell him on Toronto. It wasn't going to be done in training camp or by Christmas or by the trade deadline. But I do think they've made progress with him. I think they've made pretty good progress with him from the sense I have. They put themselves in it. And when Kawhi showed up there, I'm not sure he imagined any future in Toronto. I do think it's a serious consideration now.”
But the fact remains that Leonard had to do so much in the semifinals that it would be tough to see him being willing to deal with carrying such a load. In Game 7 alone Leonard accounted for 44.6 percent of his team's points, the most ever by a player in an elimination game (Sportsnet Stats).
So is it a guarantee that Leonard stays, especially when he loves Los Angeles and he can see a Clippers team that distributes the ball and wins with team scoring rather than putting so much pressure on one player? That remains to be seen.
But for now the Raptors think they at least have a chance and that series win over the 76ers only helped.