Kawhi Leonard returns to Toronto Raptors after Clippers salary-cap scandal
The trade agreed in June finally goes through after Los Angeles paid a record fine and accepted multiple front-office suspensions.
Kawhi Leonard is heading back to Toronto.
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors have officially moved ahead with the trade agreed at the end of June, sending the two-time Finals MVP back to the franchise he led to its only championship seven years ago.
In exchange, the Clippers receive forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and second-round selections in 2030 and 2033.
The swap sat frozen for more than two months while the NBA looked into allegations that the Clippers sidestepped league salary-cap rules to pay Leonard through a third-party endorsement deal. On 2 September, the league delivered historic punishments. The Clippers were fined $30 million and stripped of five consecutive first-round draft picks from 2029 through 2033. Owner Steve Ballmer and business president Gillian Zucker received one-year suspensions, while basketball president Lawrence Frank was banned for six months.
Leonard avoided a playing suspension, though the league ordered him to repay $700,000. Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and former business manager, was barred for five years from conducting business with NBA teams.
With Ballmer announcing on Sunday evening that the Clippers would accept the sanctions and pay the fine rather than fight them, the front office moved immediately to clear the logjam.
What Toronto is getting
Leonard is coming off one of the sharpest scoring seasons of his career. At 35, he averaged 27.9 points across 65 starts last season while shooting 50.5 per cent from the field and 38.7 per cent from three-point range, earning All-NBA second-team honours.
He is entering the final year of a three-year, $149 million contract signed in early 2024, and league sources expect him to discuss an extension with Toronto shortly. Pairing Leonard alongside Scottie Barnes gives the Raptors an immediate veteran scorer capable of lifting them from last season's first-round exit back into serious Eastern Conference contention.
What Los Angeles faces next
For the Clippers, the trade closes a turbulent seven-year chapter that brought plenty of regular-season wins to Southern California but yielded just three playoff series victories and a lone trip to the conference finals, plagued by repeated postseason knee injuries to Leonard.
Now, with Ballmer, Zucker, and Frank sidelined, general manager Trent Redden and senior vice president Mark Hughes must pick up the pieces. With five of their own future first-round picks erased by the league's penalties, the draft capital coming back from Toronto provides the Clippers with crucial assets as they try to retool around Ingram and guard Darius Garland.
Key numbers
- $30 million
- 5 first-round picks (2029–2033)
- $700,000
- 1 year
- 5 years
Questions readers are asking
Why was the Kawhi Leonard trade delayed?
The teams agreed terms on 30 June, but the NBA paused the transaction while conducting a salary-cap circumvention investigation into allegations that the Clippers arranged outside compensation for Leonard.
What penalties did the NBA impose on the Clippers?
The league fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped them of five first-round picks from 2029 to 2033, suspended owner Steve Ballmer and business president Gillian Zucker for one year, and suspended basketball president Lawrence Frank for six months.
Did Kawhi Leonard receive a ban from playing?
No. Leonard was not suspended, but he was ordered to pay $700,000 to the league in connection with the cap circumvention rules violations.
