Apr 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers ahead Kawhi Leonard (2) leaves the courtroom after being defeated by the Golden State Warriors through the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Intuit Dome. Obligatory Credit score: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Pictures An eventual Toronto homecoming may occur for Kawhi Leonard this summer time, however a commerce from the Los Angeles Clippers again to the Raptors is on maintain whereas the NBA completes its investigation into allegations of impermissible funds to skirt salary-cap guidelines and fines.
In September 2025 the NBA stated it was wanting into the Clippers for potential violations tied to an allegation they used an organization, Aspiration, to pay Leonard $28 million. Nothing was requested of Leonard within the “no-show job” which left open concern it was a loophole to pad the quantity of assured cash the Clippers provided once they signed him as a free agent.
The Raptors, who misplaced Leonard in that settlement after profitable the NBA championship, stated in a press release the commerce agreed to on June 30 in precept wasn’t off, however the NBA made it clear Toronto “would assume the chance of any potential end result of the investigation impacting Kawhi.”
“In gentle of this,” the Raptors stated, “we are going to wait till the league’s investigation is full.”
The Clippers additionally confirmed the deal was on maintain on Thursday, which brings a trove of roster-related questions and complexities for every franchise.
Leonard and the Clippers are staying collectively till the NBA completes the investigation which is 10 months working. The Clippers once more denied in a press release Thursday any wrongdoing.
“For the previous 10 months, our group has totally cooperated with an NBA investigation, collaborating in dozens of interviews, offering tens of 1000’s of paperwork, and facilitating entry to our workers. Whereas the method has been difficult, we’ve got remained dedicated to transparency,” the Clippers stated in a press release. “On June 30, we reached an settlement in precept to commerce Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. We now have since been knowledgeable that the commerce can solely be finalized if the Raptors’ possession group assumes the chance of penalties associated to Kawhi’s contract that might theoretically consequence from the continued investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we anticipate the commerce to be finalized following its conclusion.
“On the coronary heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We didn’t funnel cash to Kawhi Leonard via Aspiration. Like many subtle traders, monetary establishments, and enterprise companions, we have been victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in jail.”
ESPN additionally reported Thursday afternoon each groups anticipate the deal to finally be finalized with punishment for any violations as established by the NBA more likely to embody financial fines and lack of draft picks.
Phrases of the in-limbo commerce had handshake approval on both facet with the Clippers receiving All-Star ahead Brandon Ingram, third-year guard Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, one choose swap and two second-round picks within the deal.
Leonard, who turned 35 on Monday, is a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He led the Raptors previous the Golden State Warriors in six video games, averaging 28.5 factors and 9.8 rebounds within the collection that delivered Toronto’s solely NBA title thus far.
Leonard averaged 26.6 factors and seven.3 rebounds in 60 video games with Toronto in 2018-19, his lone season with the workforce earlier than transferring on to the Clippers.
Throughout his seven seasons in Los Angeles, he appeared in solely 59.7% of the Clippers’ regular-season video games (331 of 554) as a consequence of a string of accidents. However Leonard capped his run together with his best season since his 2019-20 debut with the Clippers. He averaged a career-high 27.9 factors together with 6.4 rebounds in 65 video games to earn seventh place within the league’s Most Helpful Participant voting in addition to his seventh All-Star Recreation nod.
–Area Stage Media
