Kawhi Leonard Trade to Raptors Completed After NBA Penalty

The Clippers finalized a trade sending Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors, months after the NBA penalized them for salary-cap circumvention.

The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors have officially completed the blockbuster trade agreed to at the end of June, sending Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto and bringing Brandon Ingram to Los Angeles, league and team sources told The Athletic. Toronto also sends shooting guard Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 to the Clippers. Leonard is waiving his 15% trade kicker and is expected to sign an extension with Toronto, where he enters the final year of a three-year, $149 million deal.

The trade was expected to close in early July, but both teams agreed to pause proceedings while the NBA finished its salary-cap circumvention investigation into the Clippers. On Sept. 2, the league found the Clippers broke circumvention rules and that Leonard violated them through the conduct of his uncle Dennis Robertson, who was banned five years from conducting business with NBA teams. Yahoo Sports reports the probe centered on allegations Leonard received impermissible benefits, including a $28 million 'no-show job,' tied to his July 2019 signing. Leonard was fined $700,000, and Ballmer announced Sunday he would accept the punishment rather than pursue a legal challenge, according to Yahoo Sports.

The NBA's penalties were unusually severe: a $30 million fine, forfeiture of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, and suspensions for chairman Steve Ballmer and business president Gillian Zucker (one year each) and basketball president Lawrence Frank (six months, through the February 2027 trade deadline). The trade reunites Leonard with the franchise he led to the 2019 championship — his second Finals MVP — and comes off arguably his finest offensive season, a career-high 27.9 points per game with a seventh All-NBA honor.

With Ballmer, Frank and Zucker sidelined, the Clippers' front office will be led by general manager Trent Redden and senior vice president Mark Hughes, working with a roster built around Ingram, two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland and rookie Keaton Wagler. Leonard returns to a Raptors side in a loaded Eastern Conference. According to The Athletic, Leonard is set to return to Intuit Dome on Nov. 2, and the teams also meet in Toronto on New Year's Day after a preseason game in Vancouver on Oct. 10.