Kawhi Leonard technically remains a member of the Los Angeles Clippers organization, as the offseason trade that sent him to the Toronto Raptors has yet to become official, while the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers’ potential cap circumvention involving Leonard continues.
ESPN recently reported that the NBA found no evidence that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had funneled money to Leonard through team sponsors, although the league’s investigation into the matter continues.
At the moment, the NBA is looking into whether the Clippers’ introduction of Leonard to team sponsors violates league rules against cap circumvention.
NBA’s Investigation Into Clippers’ Alleged Kawhi Leonard Cap Circumvention To Stretch Deep Into 2026–27 Season?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last month that the league aims to conclude its investigation into Leonard and the Clippers before the start of the 2026-27 season, which would then allow the Raptors to complete their trade for the two-time champion.
However, this saga could continue into the 2026-27 campaign if the parties involved raise issues with the findings of the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which heads the NBA’s investigation.
“Sources told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes that the Leonard investigation could drag into 2027 if the parties don’t agree on the findings or any proposed settlement and the parties go to arbitration,” ESPN reported on Tuesday.
The Clippers have strongly asserted that they did not circumvent the cap when they introduced Leonard to companies that simply happened to be engaged in a business arrangement with the team.
According to a statement the Clippers released (via ESPN), “The fact that a player has an endorsement relationship with a company that also does business with his team is not evidence of salary-cap circumvention.”
Almost a year has passed since investigative journalist Pablo Torre called attention to potential cap circumvention by the Clippers towards Leonard.
Torre first alleged that LA funneled money towards the two-time Defensive Player of the Year through the now-defunct company Aspiration, but the NBA has yet to find enough evidence to prove that claim.
It has become evident that Leonard and the Clippers have reached the point where it’s imperative for both sides to simply move on.
The Clippers signed Leonard in free agency back in 2019, and their best-ever playoff finish came in 2021 – when they made it to the Western Conference Finals even after Leonard suffered an ACL tear.
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Since then, the Clippers have faced plenty of playoff heartbreak. And this off-court saga, brought about by the NBA’s investigation into potential cap circumvention, has cast a dark cloud not just on the franchise, but on Leonard as well.
The Clippers sensed that it was indeed time for both parties to move on. And it is of the greatest urgency that this investigation finally reaches a conclusion so that Leonard can finally return to the north of the border with the Raptors – with the Clippers finally free to start a youth movement led by recent lottery pick Keaton Wagler and Darius Garland.
