Kawhi Leonard trade officially completed by Clippers, Raptors after NBA’s investigative punishments

The LA Clippers and Toronto Raptors have officially submitted the necessary details and paperwork to the league office on Monday to make their trade involving the two time NBA Finals MVP and seven-time All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard official.

While the Clippers entered the offseason with the mindset of keeping Leonard as their main star after trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac during the 2025-26 season, it became clear that the 35-year-old wanted to finish his career elsewhere. Leonard sought a massive contract extension, and with LA unwilling to pay a hefty price to keep him long-term, the star wing began pursuing opportunities elsewhere.

On June 30, before the league's free agency window officially opened, the Raptors and Clippers began finalizing a trade that would send Leonard back to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a future pick swap, and two second-round picks.

However, with the NBA's investigation into potential salary cap circumvention involving Leonard and the Clippers still ongoing, both organizations agreed to wait for a final verdict before making the trade official. From the Raptors' perspective, the organization wanted to protect themselves from any potential punishments being cast upon Leonard, such as his contract possibly being voided.

At the time, the Clippers said the trade involving Kawhi could only be finalized if the Raptors' ownership group “assumes the risk of penalties” that could result from the ongoing investigation, according to ESPN. The Raptors elected to wait for a final ruling from the league despite making it clear that they fully intended on Leonard returning to Toronto and finishing his career with the franchise.

Almost one year after initially beginning their investigation into the matter, the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver announced on September 2 that the Clippers and Leonard were being penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Kawhi Leonard investigation ends in steep Clippers punishments

An independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz found a pattern of misconduct and various rules violations by the Clippers, who are a repeat offender when it comes to salary cap circumvention dating back to their unauthorized endorsement deal with DeAndre Jordan in 2015.

The NBA and Wachtell Lipton concluded that the Clippers initiating off-court income opportunities between Leonard and multiple companies who were partnered with the franchise. This investigation also concluded that the Clippers not only paid Leonard's personal expenses, but that the franchise played a part in these deals between Leonard and the companies by offering them business from the team.

As a result, Silver and the NBA imposed steep penalties to the Clippers, which included the loss of five first-round draft picks between 2029 and 2033, a $30 million fine, and suspensions for owner Steve Ballmer, President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank.

Dennis Robertson, Leonard's uncle and former business manager, was banned by the league for five years, and Kawhi faced the smallest punishment of them all — a minor $700,000 fine. That equates to roughly 1.4% of his salary for the 2026-27 NBA season.

Although Ballmer and the Clippers immediately came out and said that they would pursue every legal avenue to fight these penalties and allegations set forth by the NBA and Wachtell Lipton, the owner announced on Sunday evening that he would accept responsibility as principal owner of the team.

“This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets. I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner,” Ballmer said in a statement on social media. “We are committing to put this chapter behind us. We have communicated to the NBA that we are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine, and are moving forward. While there are still disagreements concerning the findings in the report, this is not where I want to focus. Team owners should support, not distract.

“The challenges ahead of us are significant, but so is our resolve. We will continue to build our team and invest in our community. The confidence of our fans is our priority. With our talented roster, outstanding staff and clear vision, I am certain that we will compete at the highest level and be an organization our fans can be proud of.”

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Upon Ballmer and the Clippers accepting the results of this investigation, along with the punishments handed out by Silver and the league office not impacting Leonard or his contract in any way, the path to officially completing this trade was clear for LA and Toronto.

Kawhi Leonard officially joins Raptors

No amendments to the trade were made by the Raptors, who are still sending Ingram, Dick, two first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a future swap, and two second-round picks to the Clippers.

Since they sacrificed five first-round picks as part of the punishments for their role in the salary cap circumvention that took place, LA does recuperate a little bit of value in the form of draft picks from Toronto in this trade involving Leonard.

Now that he is officially a member of the Raptors, Leonard is eligible to sign a two-year, $123.7 million contract extension with the team that would keep him under contract through the 2028-29 season, when he would be 37 years old.

Leonard's business ventures and contract negotiations are no longer being handled by his “Uncle” Dennis Roberson or Mitch Frankel, who negotiated his three-year, $149.5 million deal with the Clippers in 2024. Instead, Leonard hired Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sports as his new agent in July during the NBA's ongoing investigation.

The Raptors intend on agreeing to a new long-term extension with Leonard, which is the main reason why he handpicked them as the team he wanted to be traded to this offseason. Leonard is now reunited with the Raptors, who he led to their only championship in team history during the 2018-19 season.

Despite interest from other teams existing on the trade market this summer, Leonard made it clear that he only wanted to be traded to Toronto, creating another contending force in the Eastern Conference alongside Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley.

Even though he is near the end of his decorated career, Leonard ended up having one of the best seasons he's ever had during the 2025-26 campaign with the Clippers. In 65 games, he averaged 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from 3-point range.

Not only was this Leonard's highest-scoring season of his career, but it ended up being one of his most efficient offensive seasons in terms of shooting splits. As a result, Leonard finished seventh in the MVP voting, despite the Clippers missing the playoffs, and he earned All-NBA Second Team honors, his seventh overall All-NBA honors.