Toronto Raptors · 20 updates
Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000 by the NBA over the Clippers' cap circumvention scandal but avoided suspension or a voided contract, The Athletic's John Hollinger reported.
The Ringer's Zach Lowe said the Clippers had been quietly positioning for a run at Nikola Jokic if he ever left Denver in 2027 free agency, but called that dead after the NBA stripped Los Angeles of five first-round picks over its Kawhi Leonard cap circumvention case.
A trade idea floated by Heavy would send Derrick Jones Jr. from the Clippers to the Lakers, reuniting him with Luka Doncic after the two shared the 2024 Finals run in Dallas.
With the NBA's salary cap circumvention findings against the Clippers now final, the Raptors have paused the previously agreed trade sending Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto, reportedly wary his contract could be voided.
The NBA's cap-circumvention ruling stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks (2029-2033), fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million and suspended executives Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank over off-court payments steered to Kawhi Leonard.
The NBA has fined the Clippers $30 million and penalized Kawhi Leonard $700,000 over cap circumvention tied to his collapsed Aspiration sponsorship.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Daktronics over its dealings with Kawhi Leonard, according to reporter Pablo Torre, who cited comments from the scoreboard maker's CFO on an earnings call.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said on ESPN LA's Mason & Ireland that the Clippers are comfortable keeping Kawhi Leonard if Toronto backs out of the trade, which has been on hold since July 9 amid the NBA's investigation into the team.
The NBA's cap-circumvention probe into Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers has resolved without voiding his contract, and ESPN's Shams Charania reports nothing now blocks his earlier-agreed trade back to Toronto. Leonard told Charania he wants a clean slate with the Raptors.
According to CBS Sports, a blockbuster deal sending Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers to the Raptors was agreed to in June but has still not been completed.
