Kawhi Leonard’s return gives the Raptors a presence they haven’t had since 2019

Certain great players have their own gravity. It shows up before they do, creating waves of disturbance.

Before Kawhi Leonard enters a room, the first thing that happens is confusion. People hurry this way and that trying to make sure they don’t block his arrival. Then his retainers sweep in, looking very serious, many of them with cameras.

Next, his court shows up. In this case, Raptors GM Bobby Webster and head coach Darko Rajakovic, flushed and tittering.

Finally, a respectful silence falls over the room. It deepens to pin drop level as Leonard arrives, looking around warily, muttering to himself. There is something vaguely dinosaur-ish about him, and it isn’t just his size.

This is what Toronto is paying so much for. It’s not the basketball. It’s the presence. Leonard has it the way very few athletes on Earth do. By merely existing in the uniform, Leonard makes the Raptors franchise matter in a way it didn’t a few weeks ago.

The first thing that struck you was a change in approach. Last time he did this media intro thing, Leonard was so quiet, he came off as resentful.

This time, he made a visible effort to be charming, even humbled. He began with a long deflection. He wouldn’t be taking any questions about the NBA investigation into his finances – “I know why a lot of you guys came …”

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In total, that speech amounted to 147 words. I can’t guarantee it, but I feel fairly confident that is the most Leonard has ever said in one go in public. It may be more than he said in toto during his first go around with the Raptors. Leonard also laughed several times, which was super weird. He pandered with the absolute best of them, noting that his son was born while he was with Toronto – “Now he’s back home. He even seems more happy.”

Overall, Leonard did a decent impression of someone who was enjoying himself. You could see him making an effort, much more so than is ever apparent on a basketball court.

If there was an equivalent to his famous “fun guy” moment, it dropped when he was asked to describe what sort of leadership role he sees himself in.

The honest answer here is a limited one. Leonard is the NBA equivalent of Spaghetti Western-era Clint Eastwood. A mercenary who rolls into town, rescues the locals and leaves looking for a payday elsewhere. But this temporarily solicitous Leonard was happy to tell stories.

“Anybody that needs help, I’m here,” he said. “Good teammate. Cool dude.”

Even his new colleagues seemed taken aback by the person they were meeting versus the one they expected.

“Talks a lot. Makes some jokes,” said Scottie Barnes, voice rising to indicate pleasant surprise. “Before they said he doesn’t talk that much. He talks a pretty good amount.”

From the Raptors perspective, you couldn’t have scripted this better. What they needed Leonard to do was kill the Clippers story by transitioning into the Toronto story. He did that.

They needed Leonard to seem like he was coming home, rather than evading justice. He did that, too.

They also needed his new co-workers to seem awed, but not intimidated. They did that.

Whether this amounts to lightning striking twice is, for now, beside the point.

Some people may be dreaming of championships, but that’s a long way off. Leonard was surrounded by more bulk talent in L.A. than he will be in Toronto, and over six years, he couldn’t come anywhere close to winning. If he manages it in Canada again, he really does deserve consideration as an all-time great.

All Leonard needs to do for now is create heat, internally and externally.

Internally, there hasn’t been any pressure on this roster since he left. They’ve been in a rebuilding phase ever since. Every year they’re rebuilding on the rebuilding. It’s a reno that was never getting finished. Just more and more chances to learn. Yawn.

Now, all of a sudden, they are contenders. Most of them couldn’t bring themselves to say it, but they are. If they don’t contend, they’re all busts. You could see the uncertainty in some of them as they talked about what they’ve been doing. Actual expectations are new to them.

This team used to come off as relaxed. Too relaxed, probably. They’re tight now. The new boss is always watching.

Externally, people now expect this team to be something it hasn’t been in a long time – interesting.

This will go one of two ways. Leonard time travels back several years and becomes the one-man gang he was once capable of being. He does so at precisely the right time, driving the club into the thick of the playoffs. Best case scenario – he kills Philadelphia again on the way. The best, best case scenario ought not be said aloud, but everyone’s already getting ahead of themselves.

The other way lies disaster. Leonard gets hurt and retreats within himself. He turns on coaches and management. He starts looking for the exit. The rest of the team collapses into the hole he creates in the middle of the operation. The building burns down, metaphorically.

Both are equally possible, and equally exciting.

For now, Leonard and everyone else with the Raptors are treating each other with great care. Neither wants to say or do the wrong thing. But like some Prussian general said, no PR plan survives first contact with the enemy.

This will either be a great season or a debacle. What a refreshing change from more of the usual.