The Kawhi Leonard saga has yet to come to an end, and his trade from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Toronto Raptors remains incomplete after new details emerged in the investigation. There is still uncertainty about what the punishment would be if these allegations are true, but many have come up with scenarios that include Leonard’s contract being voided or the trade sending him to the Toronto Raptors being rescinded.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet recently shared what he thinks the most likely outcome of the trade will be. “A negotiated settlement where the NBA gets to enforce some version of its rules, Ballmer can save face and Leonard can play for the Raptors,” Grange wrote.
“Whether Torre’s latest finding is new information to the NBA’s investigation or not, a report in The Athletic last month said a second no-show endorsement deal was already part of the investigation, the sense is that it won’t affect the next stage of the process, namely figuring out what the league is going to do with the information it has collected.”
What remains on pause
The trade that sent Leonard to the Raptors and Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to the Clippers is still on pause, and it won’t be completed until the investigation is possibly over. There is still a chance for things to be cleared up before training camp, which will be good for the players so they can be with their new teams.
Kawhi Leonard during a LA Clippers game.
The league is working quietly to get things resolved quickly, and according to Grange, things have moved beyond the fact-finding stage. All of this comes without even an estimated timeline for when it might reach a conclusion.
What is new in the investigation?
Things continue to be extremely complicated for Kawhi Leonard. First, Leonard was under investigation for his Aspiration sponsorship. Now, he is under suspicion for a second sponsorship.
According to Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Leonard was involved in a sponsorship with the LA-based crisis firm Daktronics’ Ballmer. An NBA insider told Torre that it was a case of history repeating itself. In other words, Leonard and company were trying to defy the rules of the NBA salary cap.
