A handful of notable NBA moves are still stuck in limbo, and the biggest one has now cleared the obstacle that kept it on hold.
The Clippers’ agreed-upon trade sending Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors on June 30 had been frozen while the league investigated whether Los Angeles got around the salary cap by funneling money to Leonard through a set of “no-show” endorsement deals. That review wrapped up last week, and the NBA hit the Clippers with major penalties after determining they had violated the league’s rules against salary cap circumvention. The Clippers pushed back hard on the ruling, even though the report from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz laid out what the league called overwhelming evidence.
Toronto’s hesitation was tied to Leonard’s punishment, not just the investigation itself. The star forward was fined $700K, but he was not suspended and his contract will not be voided. With that part settled, the expectation is that the trade will be completed soon.
If the original framework remains intact, Toronto would send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, two second-round picks in 2030 and 2033, and a 2027 first-round pick swap to the Clippers for Leonard.
The Leonard deal isn’t the only transaction waiting for the paperwork to catch up with the agreement.
James Harden’s three-year, $97MM contract with the Cavaliers, agreed to on August 20, still hasn’t been made official. Cleveland has already taken steps around the edges, waiving Cam Whitmore and expected to stretch his salary over three seasons, then signing former second-round pick Khalifa Diop to a rookie minimum deal. Even so, Harden’s contract remains unsigned.
The issue is cap pressure. As Luke Adams wrote Saturday in a Front Office Original, the Cavs are hard-capped at the first tax apron after acquiring Peyton Watson via sign-and-trade, and that leaves them unable to carry a 15th player for the full 2026/27 season unless Harden’s final number comes in a bit below the reported figure. Adams said that outcome looks like the likeliest path, though Cleveland could also open enough room by making another roster move so Harden can get the full $97MM.
New Orleans is facing a different kind of squeeze with its reported two-year, $16MM deal for Bennedict Mathurin, which was announced on August 26 but not finalized. Adams also examined that situation and noted that the Pelicans’ contracts for Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, and Saddiq Bey include unlikely incentives that would push the team past the first tax apron.
Because New Orleans would be hard-capped there after using more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception to sign Mathurin, the team needs at least one cost-cutting move before it can complete the deal. That move would likely drop the Pelicans below the luxury tax as well, since signing Mathurin at the reported terms would send them over the tax line.
Denver, meanwhile, does not appear to have a cap issue blocking DeMar DeRozan’s deal. The Nuggets agreed to a one-year contract with the veteran forward on August 21 and plan to use the minimum salary exception to sign him.
Adams added one possible reason the agreement still hasn’t been formalized: Denver may be trying to get below the second tax apron first. The Nuggets are currently about $2MM over that line, and adding DeRozan would leave them roughly $4.5MM above it.
In Other News...
Pelicans Just Got A Real Michael Porter Jr. Opportunity
Michael Porter Jr. has quickly become the kind of name that can shift a conversation around New Orleans, especially with the trade market still far from settled. Erik Slater, who covers the Nets, has reported that Brooklyn appears to view Porter more as a trade asset than a player it expects to keep around long term, which naturally keeps his future in play and makes him a possible fit for a Pelicans team still trying to sharpen its roster direction.
For New Orleans, the intrigue is less about the timing and more about whether Porter would mesh with what Jamahl Mosley wants to build on the defensive end. A move could come at the trade deadline or even later, before the 2026-27 season, but the Pelicans are still in the middle of shaping their culture and sorting out the rest of the roster, so patience may be the smarter play for now. The opportunity is there, but the full picture around it is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]