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NBA Power Rankings: Raptors emerging as a legitimate contender to get back to finals

When Kawhi Leonard decided to head back home to Southern California and sign a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, most NBA analysts assumed the Toronto Raptors would drop back into the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff field at best and maybe begin an overhaul of the roster.

With Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka all getting ready to enter the final year of their contracts, it was believed Raptors’ President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri would be in sell mode at the trade deadline, getting whatever assets he could for players that would no longer fit in the organization’s plans.