Pablo Torre’s latest report has only made the Kawhi Leonard mess look messier, and that’s bad news for the Clippers, the Raptors and anyone waiting on a clean resolution. Torre reported that Leonard had another undisclosed sponsorship tied to the Clippers’ scoreboard company, Daktronics, while the league’s investigation into the Aspiration scandal continues.
At this point, the evidence for salary cap circumvention appears to be piling up by the day, and the big trade that was supposed to be part of the fallout is still sitting in limbo. The Clippers and Raptors agreed almost a month ago on a deal that would have sent Leonard to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. For now, though, that deal is on hold, with no clear end in sight.
That’s where Boston starts smiling.
The Celtics are deeply invested in the Clippers’ future because they likely control Los Angeles’ 2028 first-round pick, unprotected, via the 76ers in the Jaylen Brown trade. That asset already looked useful. With every new wrinkle in the Leonard situation, it looks better.
If this trade never gets finalized, the Clippers could be left stuck with an expiring Leonard - or worse, a contract that gets voided. They may not even end up receiving the picks or anything else from Toronto, and the NBA could still hit them with additional sanctions that would affect their ability to spend or make other moves down the road. In other words, the longer this drags on, the uglier it gets for Los Angeles.
And that has a direct ripple effect for the Celtics. That 2028 pick is starting to look like the kind of chip that can anchor a deal for a star, or simply be held onto and used in a draft that’s shaping up to be loaded. With the new lottery reform in place, the Clippers have limited ways to improve that outlook.
Toronto is caught in its own kind of purgatory, too. The Raptors are no closer to landing Leonard, and without him, they’re not really a contender in the Eastern Conference. For Boston, that means one more team that once looked dangerous and now looks far less threatening.
There still hasn’t been any real guidance from the NBA or the teams involved on how this will ultimately shake out. But from the outside, the situation looks grim for the Clippers and Leonard, and it’s hard to see Toronto moving forward with the trade until there’s some kind of resolution.
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What stands out is how much the offense leans into specialization instead of forcing everyone into traditional positions. A statistical look from SportsRadar and Synergy found four Celtics players making a major impact in defined offensive roles, which says a lot about why this team can keep humming when the personnel changes. The deeper the rotation has become, the more it looks like Mazzullas biggest advantage is not just having options, but knowing exactly how to use them. [Read more 🡒]
Luka Garza Is Fighting For His Celtics Role This Summer
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The path is not getting any easier. Boston added Mitchell Robinson at center, which only tightens the competition in a spot Garza already had to fight for, and he is now doing his offseason work at the newly opened NBPA player-owned performance center in Los Angeles. For Garza, the setting is part of the point, a chance to sharpen his game while the Celtics head into another season with decisions still to be made in the middle. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Have One Stephen Curry Scenario Worth Watching Closely
Golden States plans for the 2026-27 season are already drawing scrutiny, and Stephen Curry is right at the center of it. After a 37-45 finish, the Warriors have stood pat so far, and insider Monte Poole has described the coming year as a gap season built around internal development rather than outside help. For a player still performing at a high level, that kind of setup raises obvious questions about how much longer Curry will want to wait for the roster around him to catch up.
For Boston, the relevance is less about the Warriors short-term direction and more about the possibility that Currys future eventually opens up. The Celtics would be one of the teams paying close attention if he ever decides the end of the road in Golden State is nearing, especially with the league always watching for a star of that caliber to become available. It is still a distant conversation, but in a league where situations change quickly, Currys next move is the kind of possibility teams like Boston cannot ignore. [Read more 🡒]