Kawhi Leonard reportedly buys house in Toronto, signifying nothing

In today’s episode of Rumours That Give Over-Reactionary Raptors Fans Something To Needlessly Get Excited About, we have a report that the team’s newly-acquired superstar Kawhi Leonard has purchased — not rented — a home in Toronto.

God’s Country, as they call it.

NBA TV analyst Peter Yannopoulos on Sunday tweeted the absolutely stunning revelation that a millionaire may have purchased a house in an expensive city.

First off, congrats to Kawhi for breaking into the Toronto housing market. No small feat, if true. Secondly, let’s ask ourselves this: does a well-off athlete purchasing a pad in the city he’s going to be playing professional basketball in for at least a year, in any way reveal said athlete’s future intention of staying in said city long term?

No. Maybe? No, no. It does not.

It is a slight deviation from the norm, however, as players in Kawhi’s contract situation, on a new team just one year out from free agency, will often just rent a condo or house before figuring out where they’ll be hanging their hat permanently.

That’s kind of notable, I guess, but it really doesn’t mean anything or signify any decision on Kawhi’s part to commit to Toronto for the future — it just means the dude is about that sweet, sweet paper. Why would a Very Rich Person rent anything, even for a year, if they had the financial means to get in to one of North America’s steamiest real estate markets during a temporary downswing?

And if that Very Rich Person also happened to play for that market’s NBA team, wouldn’t it make sense for that person to have somewhere to live during that year which can be easily flipped for profit following the conclusion of said season?

I’m not a real estate expert, or an economist, or smart in any way whatsoever, but I believe the answer to both those questions is yes.

Just because there’s nothing to make of this doesn’t mean that there aren’t other reasons to be optimistic that Raptors management can convince Kawhi to commit to the team long term, though.

It just means there’s nothing to make of a rich person buying a house.