After being on hold for months awaiting a resolution in the Clippers salary cap circumvention investigation, the trade of Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors — agreed to back on June 30 — has finally gone through, a story broken earlier in the day by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed as completed by the teams.
This comes one day after Clippers owner Steve Ballmer released a statement saying he and the franchise would not fight the harsh penalties handed down by Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA in the case of them funneling extra money to Leonard through no-show endorsement deals.
While Toronto and LA agreed to this trade in June, the Raptors put finalizing the deal on hold, waiting to see the outcome and punishments from the NBA’s investigation (they would have been on the hook if Leonard were suspended or his contract voided). Now that the report is done, the punishments have been handed down and accepted, and the Clippers have figured out who is heading basketball operations (though they haven’t officially announced it), the trade moved forward, as expected.
The terms of the trade have not changed from June. As a reminder, the trade details are:
• Toronto receives: Kawhi Leonard
• The LA Clippers receive: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, two second-round picks (2030 and 2033).
Leonard has agreed to waive his 15% trade kicker to facilitate the trade, according to Charania.
Despite that, this is a win for Leonard, who gets out of the glare of the Los Angeles spotlight and lands in a city where he helped win the Raptors win their only title, a place he is beloved. Leonard is expected to reach terms for an extension with the Raptors, although the timing is unclear.
While some pundits wanted to stir up the idea that the Clippers might try to hold up or change the trade — as punishment to Leonard, who got off with a slap on the wrist in the punishments handed down — league sources had told NBC Sports (and we consistently reported) the deal was going to go through. Beyond the reputational damage of backing out of an agreed-to deal, this trade also works for both sides.
The Raptors get Leonard, an All-NBA player last year, averaging 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds a night in 65 games. Putting Leonard at forward with Scottie Barnes (almost an All-NBA player last year, 18th in voting), RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in what is a potentially dynamic and dangerous roster (if Leonard can stay healthy).
While the Clippers get a quality player in Ingram, the real draw here is the picks — Los Angeles lost five first-round picks in the punishment from the NBA, this brings a couple in the door. Whatever internal frustrations they may have with Leonard, the Clippers needed those picks and with that needed this trade.
