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Real estate investor offers Kawhi Leonard free penthouse to stay with Raptors

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (2) smiles from the bench during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, May 21, 2019 in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Of all the silly incentives that have been thrown at Kawhi Leonard in an effort to keep him in Toronto, this one just might get the job done.

I mean, paying for a penthouse condo likely won’t be a problem for Kawhi wherever he may land, but a free penthouse in downtown Toronto definitely ups the ante.

Simon Mass, CEO of The Condo Store Realty Inc., has reportedly offered Leonard a multi-million dollar penthouse if he re-ups with the Raptors with a contract extension.

Free food for life is nothing to shake a stick at, but free penthouse lodging in Toronto’s insane real estate market may be just too good to pass up.

“We want to do what we can to ensure that our MVP stays in Toronto where he is loved and respected for being the ‘best of the best’ for the basketball-loving public of Toronto and Canada,” Mass said in a statement shared with Toronto Storeys.

If Leonard were to sign with Toronto and accept the deal, the former Defensive Player of the Year would reportedly have his pick of penthouse condos at the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Shangri-La Residences.

Toronto currently boasts some of the most expensive penthouses in the country. A penthouse in Toronto’s coveted Yorkville neighbourhood sold for more than $30 million in 2018, the same year that a penthouse at the St. Regis was sold for $28 million.

“What better way to show our commitment to Kawhi Leonard than to ensure he can stay at one of the most coveted Hotel Residences in Toronto during his time with the Raptors?” said Mass.

Leonard reportedly purchased a home in Toronto — he also bought a $13.3 million mansion in California but who’s counting? — when he was traded to the Raptors, but a free penthouse in one of Toronto’s premier hotel-residences is quite the incentive to stick around.

We’ll have to wait until the summer, when Kawhi makes his much-anticipated decision on free agency, to see how successful Mass’s pitch really was. But for now, Raptors fans have bigger things to think about as Toronto sits tied at two games a piece with Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For now, let’s just enjoy Kawhi while we’ve got him.

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