TORONTO — The Kawhi Leonard trade between the LA Clippers and Toronto Raptors will become official soon, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Clippers agreed to trade Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks on June 30, but the trade was put on hold on July 9 because the NBA was still investigating LAC over cap circumvention.
Now that the NBA’s investigation is over, the Clippers can officially trade Leonard to the Raptors.
The Leonard Era In LA Was Awful
In the summer of 2019, Leonard left the Raptors for the Clippers, who acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Leonard and George were teammates in Los Angeles for five seasons before George left the Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2024.
The Clippers, who traded James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers last season, have never made the NBA Finals in franchise history.
Leonard has one year left on his contract. He will make $50.3 million next season. The Raptors are expected to sign Leonard to an extension.
A future Hall of Famer, Leonard put up 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season. The swingman played in 65 games, the most games he’s played in since the 2023-24 season.
However, the Clippers missed the playoffs after losing to the Golden State Warriors in the 9-10 play-in game at home.
A top-75 player of all time, Leonard has played for the San Antonio Spurs, Raptors and Clippers. He holds career averages of 20.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the regular season and 21.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the playoffs.
Leonard is a two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Star. He was interviewed by NBA investigators.
Leonard played in 331 regular-season games and 35 playoff games with the Clippers, who went 217-114 in the regular season and 17-18 in the playoffs when Leonard played.
Clippers And Leonard Got Penalized
The NBA announced that the Clippers and Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). This determination was based upon information developed through an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
The investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.
Leonard, through the conduct of Dennis Robertson on his behalf, violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses.
Based on this misconduct, the NBA has imposed the following penalties:
● The Clippers shall forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts.
● The Clippers are fined $30 million.
● Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.
● Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year for being primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.
● Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months for his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Leonard and his family.
● The Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.
● In connection with his violations, Leonard is required to pay the league $700,000.
● Mr. Robertson is banned from conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel for a period of five years.
Leonard Led The Raptors To The 2019 Title
The Raptors won the 2019 NBA championship against the Warriors. Leonard won Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the six-game series.
Leonard put up 26.6 points per game during the 2018-19 regular season. The Raptors won 58 games and were the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto went 46-36 last season, losing to Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs in seven games.
