Kawhi Leonard set to return to Toronto Raptors after seven years
The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors have agreed on a trade sending Kawhi Leonard to the Canadian club after an NBA investigation had paused the deal. The move will be finalized once the Clippers give final approval.
NBA clubs the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors have agreed on a trade that would send star forward Kawhi Leonard to the Canadian franchise, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, citing his sources.
A trade between the two teams originally reached in late June was suspended pending an NBA investigation. Charania reports that the deal will now be completed once the Clippers give their final sign-off, expected on Monday.
Penalties over salary cap violations
The NBA's investigation into salary cap circumvention resulted in a series of sanctions. Both the Clippers organization and Leonard were fined, team owner Steve Ballmer and business operations president Gillian Zucker were suspended for one year, and basketball operations president Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months. The team also forfeited five first-round draft picks spanning 2029 to 2033.
The Clippers were fined $30 million (about €26 million), while Leonard received a $700,000 (about €606,000) fine.
Trade details
Under the agreement reached in late June, the Clippers would receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and five draft selections from the Raptors in return for Leonard.
Leonard's career
Born in Los Angeles, Leonard won the NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019 and was named Finals MVP — a feat he had already achieved in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs. Later in 2019, as a free agent, he chose to join the Clippers, where he spent the past seven years. Last season he averaged 27.9 points per game across 65 regular-season appearances.
