Kawhi Leonard’s move back to the Toronto Raptors didn’t start with the league’s investigation. It started with a contract line the Los Angeles Clippers apparently weren’t willing to cross.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Clippers had no appetite to extend Leonard beyond the $50.3 million he was due for the 2026-27 season. That hesitation, Stein reported, was the trigger for trade talks with Toronto before the NBA’s yearlong external investigation into alleged salary cap circumvention by the Clippers finally ran its course.
“As The Stein Line first reported in June, Leonard made it known amid interest from trade suitors such as Miami, Minnesota, Detroit that he would only be interested in signing an extension with the Raptors or San Antonio (which did not pursue a trade for him).”
That detail gives the whole saga a clearer shape. Leonard was heading into the final season of his deal, and the Clippers were staring at the possibility of letting him reach unrestricted free agency in 2027. They weren’t ready to lock themselves into another major financial commitment, so exploring a trade became the obvious path.
The investigation certainly complicated everything, but it wasn’t the only force at work. Even without that unresolved issue hanging over the franchise, Stein’s reporting suggests the Clippers and Leonard had already hit a dead end.
Leonard wanted long-term security. Los Angeles wasn’t prepared to provide it.
Toronto, then, became the landing spot by default. Leonard was said to be open to an extension only with the Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs, while Miami, Minnesota, and Detroit were also in the mix. The Spurs did not pursue him, which left Toronto as the lone destination that fit Leonard’s stance.
The Raptors eventually landed the blockbuster deal, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks to the Clippers.
The trade only came together a few days ago, after the NBA’s salary cap investigation wrapped up and the punishments were announced. Now Leonard is on his way back to Toronto, where he’ll try to chase another title.
He’s also reportedly close to a two-year extension with the Raptors worth as much as $126 million, a deal that would keep him under contract through the 2028-29 season.
From a basketball standpoint, it’s easy to see why Toronto would make that kind of commitment. Leonard, now 35, averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last season while shooting 50.5% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range. He also finished seventh in MVP voting.
The Clippers, though, clearly came to a different conclusion after seven years with Leonard. His run in Los Angeles produced strong individual numbers - 25.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game - but not the championship the franchise expected when he arrived in 2019. Injuries repeatedly cut into the postseason picture.
By the time summer arrived, the picture had gotten messier. The investigation created uncertainty, Leonard was in the final year of his deal, and the Clippers had already made up their minds about the extension he wanted.
So even though the league’s probe delayed the finish, the groundwork for the split was already in place. The contract disagreement came first, and the blockbuster deal followed from there.
In Other News...
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The backdrop here is far bigger than a routine leadership shuffle. The leagues findings centered on the Clippers use of no-show endorsement deals connected to Kawhi Leonard, and the matter is not finished, with the team still under a Department of Justice investigation. For a franchise already under pressure to win now, the uncertainty off the court is becoming as hard to ignore as the basketball questions on it. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Just Handed One Person Huge Power During Ballmers Absence
The Clippers have turned to a familiar legal hand to help steer the franchise through a sudden stretch of uncertainty, naming attorney John Gibson as interim governor and CEO while Steve Ballmer serves his one-year suspension. The move, approved by the NBA, puts Gibson in charge of both the basketball and business sides of the organization, with added responsibility to represent the team at Board of Governors meetings.
For a club trying to keep its footing off the court while one of the leagues most prominent owners is sidelined, the arrangement gives Gibson a wide lane to operate. Ballmers suspension stems from a league investigation into salary cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard, and the Clippers now have to manage the fallout with a temporary leader carrying real authority at a delicate moment. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Just Entered A Strange New Era Without Steve Ballmer
The Clippers are entering a rare stretch of business with Steve Ballmer out of the day-to-day picture, and the league has already signed off on the person who will help steer things from the top. John Gibson has been named the clubs interim governor and CEO during Ballmers yearlong suspension for cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard, giving the franchise a temporary new face in a role that usually comes with the owners full authority.
The organizational reshuffle does not stop there, either. Los Angeles is also operating without Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, leaving Trent Redden to lead basketball operations while the team absorbs the fallout from the NBA investigation. For a franchise that has spent years trying to present stability and big-market ambition, the next several months will look unusually different. [Read more 🡒]