Raptors put Kawhi Leonard trade on hold until NBA probe into Clippers concludes

Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times on Jul 9, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — The Toronto Raptors have put the brakes on acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers, announcing Thursday that the trade is on hold until the NBA investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules is complete.

"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 said. "In light of this, we will wait until the league's investigation is complete."

The trade sent Leonard to Toronto for forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks. Leonard has spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after leading the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.

The probe was triggered in September when the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast aired an episode detailing a contract Leonard received from Aspiration, a self-described "socially-conscious and sustainable banking services and investment products" firm. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million in the now-defunct company that in turn agreed to pay Leonard $28 million for endorsements he never fulfilled.

The investigation is being conducted by Wachtell Lipton, a high-powered New York law firm the NBA has frequently used when attempting to determine off-the-court wrongdoing by team owners, players or referees. There is no timetable for its conclusion, and the league had no comment Thursday.

However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said June 3 that he had communicated to Wachtell Lipton that the investigation needed to conclude in a timely fashion.

"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," Silver said. "But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.

"I think it's clear they're far along. 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."

Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021. A month later, the Clippers announced a $300 million sponsorship deal with the company. Ballmer nearly granted Aspiration naming rights to the team's new $2 billion venue as well, but instead chose financial services firm Intuit.

Two years later when Aspiration was experiencing severe financial difficulties, Ballmer made an additional $10 million investment and Clippers co-owner Dennis Wong — Ballmer's former college roommate — invested $1.99 million in Aspiration nine days before Leonard received a $1.75 million payment from the company. Leonard ultimately was paid $21 million of the $28 million agreed upon in his contract with Aspiration.

Players are allowed to have separate endorsement and other business deals, but at issue is whether the Clippers participated in arranging the side deal beyond simply introducing Aspiration executives to Leonard. Doing so would be a violation of Article 13 of the NBA collective bargaining agreement, punishable by a $7.5 million fine, the loss of a first-round draft pick and the voiding of Leonard's contract.

It is unclear whether Leonard could be punished. He has one year remaining on a three-year, $149,505,800 contract. He is owed a base salary of $50.3 million for the 2026-27 season.

The Clippers denied wrongdoing Thursday in a statement.

"We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues," the Clippers said. "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."

Leonard, a four-time All-NBA forward, averaged 25.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals over six seasons with the Clippers — he sat out the 2021-2022 season with an injury. Leonard played on NBA championship teams with the Raptors and San Antonio Spurs, but the Clippers have never reached the finals.

He averaged a career-high 27.9 points while playing 65 games last season and Raptors fans welcomed his return.

"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 said.