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Kawhi Leonard’s return to the Raptors is on hold.
On Thursday, the Raptors and Clippers announced in public statements that their agreed upon trade won’t be completed until after the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers’ relationship with Aspiration is completed.
Since last September, the league has been investigating the Clippers over allegations Leonard allegedly had a no-show endorsement deal with the failed environmental startup in an attempt to circumvent the league’s salary cap and compensate the two-time NBA champion beyond his contract with the team. If found guilty, the NBA could strip the Clippers of multiple first-round picks, fine the organization, and potentially void Leonard’s contract.
“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,” the Raptors statement said. “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 trade, which was first reported on June 30, raised eyebrows around the NBA as many wondered if the league would allow the transaction to be completed as the investigation remained ongoing.
“We don’t have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks,” an NBA spokesperson told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Leonard is in the final year of a three-year, $150 million contract extension he signed in 2024. He’s owed $50.3 million next season, but is eligible for a two-year extension worth $123.7 million. ESPN reported that Leonard and the Raptors were set to begin extension talks this week, but those can’t formally start until the trade is finalized.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has repeatedly said Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has fully cooperated with the investigation. Ballmer, Leonard, his uncle Dennis Robertson, and Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg have all interviewed with the league’s investigators.
In February, Silver called the investigation “enormously complex” citing the Aspiration’s bankruptcy case and the thousands of documents Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Kratz, the law firm the league hired for the probe, to sift through.
The Clippers said on Thursday that the franchise participated in “dozens of interviews” and provided “tens of thousands of documents” for the league’s investigation and that it expects the trade of Leonard to go through once it’s over.
“We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration,” the Clippers statement read. “…We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”
