The Los Angeles Clippers are still dealing with the fallout from a cap circumvention scandal that cost the franchise five first-round picks and $30 million, one of the harshest penalties the NBA has handed out. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, came through the mess with far lighter damage: a $700K fine and no major punishment beyond that.
Even with Leonard’s own trade to the Toronto Raptors still untouched, the deal has not been finalized, and that delay has fueled plenty of talk around the league. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Raptors are still expecting the move to go through after putting it on hold July 9 “to guard against a Leonard suspension or the outright voiding of his contract,” and he added that Leonard and his camp still believe the deal will be completed as planned.
But the wait has opened the door to a more pointed theory. Stein wrote: “Yet the delay has naturally led some league observers to wonder aloud whether the Clippers are holding off - or considering something even more drastic - to spite Leonard for so readily accepting the league’s punishment rather than invoking his right to pursue an appeal. Any formal appeal within the NBA’s auspices in such matters, remember, must be initiated by the player in question rather than the team according to league by-laws.”
That suspicion has plenty of fuel behind it. The Clippers already paid a steep price to build around Leonard, including the trade that sent future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Oklahoma City along with five first-round picks in the Paul George deal. By the source’s count, Leonard’s time has ultimately cost the franchise 10 first-round picks, not including SGA, and all of it came without a Finals appearance.
So when the NBA punished the Clippers for the cap circumvention case, there was at least an expectation that Leonard might stand with the team in some way. Instead, he accepted the league’s settlement quickly, leaving the Clippers without a meaningful way to push back.
For now, the front office is still deciding how to move forward, and the team says its suspensions are what’s slowing things down. Still, the longer the trade sits in limbo, the more the speculation grows. If the Raptors deal keeps dragging or gets scrapped altogether, it would leave Leonard in an awkward spot after already settling into his new city.
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Now Clayton appears likely to stay put with the Memphis Grizzlies, narrowing one of the cleaner paths Toronto had to bolster that spot. For a team that already felt the shortage of reliable creators in the playoffs, losing a realistic target only sharpens the question of how the Raptors plan to support Quickley and Shead if the depth chart gets tested again. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Leonard Keeps Reshaping The Pacers In A Way Fans Missed
Kawhi Leonards footprint around the Pacers has been unusual for years, starting with the fact that Indiana drafted him in 2011 only to send his rights to San Antonio before he ever wore a Pacers uniform. What looked like a simple draft-night miss has since turned into a long, indirect thread through the league, with Leonard repeatedly showing up in the background of moves that eventually altered Indianas roster.
His departure from Toronto in 2019 helped create one of those ripple effects, and the chain kept going as the Pacers built out the frontcourt they have now. Pascal Siakam arrived in 2024, and later Ivica Zubac followed, giving Indiana two-thirds of its starting frontcourt through turns of events that traced back, in different ways, to Leonards career path and the fallout around him. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Linked To Another Major Frontcourt Swing After Kawhi Push
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There is also growing chatter that Toronto could be eyeing another swing to change the size and skill level of its front line. Domantas Sabonis has become a name to watch after changes around his situation have prompted leaguewide speculation, and for the Raptors the appeal is obvious: if they are going to spend this aggressively, they may not be done after the Leonard pursuit. [Read more 🡒]