The Clippers’ decision to stop fighting the NBA’s ruling has put the Kawhi Leonard-to-Toronto question right back on the table, but not because a deal is suddenly close.
After the league wrapped up its investigation, Steve Ballmer chose to accept the punishment instead of escalating the mess into a longer public battle. In his statement, he said, “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’s statement read.
The penalties are steep. Ballmer was suspended by the NBA for a year and fined $30 million, which he said was already paid.
Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, was suspended for six months without pay. Gillian Zucker, the Clippers’ business operations president, was also suspended for a year.
That punishment doesn’t automatically clear the path to a trade, though. The league reportedly has no control over the deal that was previously halted between the Clippers and the Raptors, and both sides are allowed to reopen talks if they choose. Toronto, according to the source, is willing to do that.
The problem is on the Clippers’ side. With Ballmer and Frank both suspended, it’s unclear who would handle front-office business right away, and that creates a real obstacle to getting anything across the finish line.
Before the investigation ended, the two teams had already been working on a trade early in the offseason. It was then stopped, despite reports that Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and future draft compensation were part of the package headed to Los Angeles for Leonard.
NBA insider Jake Fischer said Ballmer’s acceptance of the penalties should not be read as a sign that a deal is about to happen. “I would not read Steve Ballmer accepting the NBA’s investigation findings and penalties as any indicator the trade of Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors will be completed imminently,” Fischer wrote on X. “Still sounds like the Clippers’ aren’t quite ready to get back on the phone with Toronto, even though, as @TheSteinLine reported, the NBA league office would process a trade call without an interim governor in place,” he added.
Leonard himself was punished only lightly in the fallout, while his uncle, Dennis Robertson, took the brunt of the sanctions. Even with the current roadblocks, there is still a sliver of a chance the deal could surface again as the 2026-2027 season gets closer.
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