The Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto is officially on hold. The NBA is investigating the Los Angeles Clippers, and until that investigation is finished, Leonard is not going anywhere.
The Clippers agreed to a trade on June 30 that would send Leonard back to the Raptors, the team he led to the 2019 NBA championship. In return, the Clippers were set to receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and two second-round picks. That is a massive haul for a Clippers team clearly ready to reset.
Then the league office got involved.
The NBA is investigating allegations that the Clippers paid Leonard impermissible benefits. That investigation is ongoing and it is now blocking the trade from being finalized. Toronto reportedly held off on completing the deal after the NBA told the Raptors they would assume the risk for any penalties Leonard might face as a result of the probe.
That is a smart move by the Raptors front office. Nobody wants to give up premium assets for a player who might get suspended or worse.
Both sides remain confident the trade will eventually happen. That is the reporting from multiple outlets. But “eventually” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The investigation could take weeks or months. Training camp is coming. The Raptors were counting on Leonard being their star for opening night.
The Clippers are in an awkward position too. They cannot really unwind their offseason. They already agreed to move Leonard. They already signed replacements. If the trade falls through, they have a completely different roster than the one they built.
The salary cap investigation angle is what makes this messy. The NBA has become much more aggressive about enforcing cap rules in the last few years. Steve Ballmer’s Clippers have long been rumored to operate with more financial flexibility than the rules technically allow. This is the league office finally digging in.
Leonard himself has said nothing publicly. That is his standard practice, of course. He handled the trade to Toronto in 2018 without saying much. He handled his exit from Toronto in 2019 without saying much. He is going to handle this the same way.
The Raptors need this trade to happen. Toronto has been rebuilding around a young core for two years and Leonard was going to be the veteran anchor that pushes them into playoff contention. Without him, the Raptors are back to being a lottery team.
Everybody in the NBA is watching the league office right now. This decision affects the balance of power in the East and it will affect the Clippers cap situation for years. The story is not over. The trade is not dead. But it is stuck, and that alone is a real problem.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
