The Raptors did it again.

From Louis’ piece:

“He won’t shift the hierarchy on the team when it comes to who touches the ball, where, and when. He and Brandon Ingram averaged almost identical numbers of touches last season, and both prioritize isolation attempts. It’s just that Leonard is much, much better on those attempts. He will bend defences by far wider margins, draw more double teams, initiate from further away, and generally open the floor for his teammates by much wider margins that Ingram did.

At the same time, he will allow Quickley to continue to play point guard. Quickley is a point guard. But he needs teammates to handle some elements of offensive creation that some other point guards (generally superstars) shoulder themselves. Scottie Barnes has generally handled all north-south passing for the Raptors. Leonard will handle much of the pull-up shooting and isolation play. Quickley will still run his fair share of pick and rolls. He will still finish oodles of possessions. In fact, his shot attempts might feasibly increase from last season.

But his responsibilities will be lighter, allowing him to focus more on his strengths. His almost three seasons as a Raptor have, in some ways, been the team and player trying to force a square peg in a round hole. But it’s been so long that his edges have become increasingly rounded, his shape bent and formed to fit the role in which the Raptors have increasingly pushed him. It hasn’t been perfect, and it won’t be perfect. But it’s become a better and better fit.

And the Raptors will finally have a stable of teammates who can ease Quickley into a role that perhaps, if you squint, can be closer to perfect. Not the perfect role that he played on the Knicks years ago. That was perfect for him then, but he’s changed and grown as a player. Perhaps he can be in a role that will be perfect for him now.

The final frontier of fit and skillset and team weakness is rim pressure. Leonard no longer offers it, which is why going forward, as in past seasons, the team will rely on heavily on RJ Barrett. But Scottie Barnes’ ability to attack the basket exploded in the playoffs. If he can remain improved in that regard, even if not to the helter-skelter degree of the playoffs, that will lift further burden from Quickley’s shoulders.

I eventually bought myself a Predator cue and learned how to put the cue ball anywhere it wanted to go. The Raptors don’t even need to go to that extent. They don’t need to find a new point guard. With Leonard on board, if all goes to plan, they might find that Quickley seems like a whole new point guard himself.”