The reported trade between the Raptors and Clippers that would send Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto is now on hold and will not be completed until the NBA's investigation into Leonard's sponsorship agreement with Aspiration is completed, the two sides announced Thursday. The Raptors released the following statement:
"Regarding our planned trade with the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard, the NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi. In light of this, we will wait until the league's investigation is complete. The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans."
The Raptors agreed to a blockbuster trade with the Clippers to bring Leonard, who led Toronto to the 2019 NBA title, back to the franchise on June 30. The Clippers are set to receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2027 and two second-rounders (2030 and 2033) if the deal goes through.
The NBA's investigation began last offseason, when Pablo Torre released a series of podcasts alleging that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer illegally circumvented the salary cap in order to pay Leonard through the now-bankrupt company Aspiration. The Clippers have repeatedly denied the allegations, and Leonard even attended Kyle Lowry's retirement press conference in Toronto earlier this week.
Depending on the league's investigation, Leonard's contract could potentially be voided. Should the Raptors have finalized the acquisition of Leonard before the situation was settled, they would have been taking on the risk of losing him. Therefore, they have seemingly elected to wait until the situation is settled before moving forward with the trade. For now, that means that Leonard will remain a Clipper and Ingram and Dick remain in Toronto. Should the investigation yield no discipline, the trade will seemingly proceed as scheduled.
Before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicated that the NBA hoped the investigation would soon reach its conclusion. "The investigation has been conducted by a law firm independent of the NBA," Silver said. "Yes, ultimately we're paying their bills, but they are doing the work independent of the league office, and my instruction to them is we can't be investigating forever, but at some point, we have to wrap it up. But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.
"I think it's clear they're far along. I think those reports are reading all the time from people who are being interviewed by them, and I think they understand that you can keep going on and on. But I think we're close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up because you also need finality. Their team has to understand what the situation is they're going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams."
Unfortunately, the delayed resolution here means that the Clippers, Raptors and the rest of the NBA moved through the 2026 offseason assuming that Leonard would indeed play for Toronto next offseason. If the results of the investigation lead to the Raptors not acquiring Leonard, it throws a bit of a wrench into the rest of the league's plans. Most of the league's cap space has dried up, for instance, so if Leonard's contract were voided and he were to become a free agent, very few teams would have the resources to pay him a salary at all commensurate with his production.
Sportsnet reported Thursday that unless Leonard's contract is voided, the deal is expected to ultimately go through. The hope is that a resolution is reached by next Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas.
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