The status of the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors is in limbo a bit longer. Front Office Sports reports that a ruling on the Los Angeles Clippers/Aspiration/Leonard investigation isn’t expected to come until after Las Vegas Summer League.
Despite NBA commissioner Adam Silver expected to speak with media members on Tuesday at Summer League, there won’t be any announcement on a ruling during his media session.
The Los Angeles Clippers agreed to a trade that sends Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps and a second-round pick to the Clippers. However, on July 9th both teams released statements saying that the league needed to complete its investigation first before the deal can be finalized.
Breaking Down the League’s Investigation
The investigation by the league began last offseason, when Pablo Torre reported potential salary cap circumvention by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Torre reported through a series of podcast episodes that L.A.’s partnership with the now bankrupt company Aspiration, helped funnel money to Leonard in an effort to preserve salary cap space.
The Clippers have denied the allegations on numerous occasions, suggesting that they were the victims of fraud by Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sandberg. On June 1, Sandberg was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.
Through all of this, though, the league has continued its investigation. However, they’ve given no firm update on when it would conclude or any likely outcome on the matter.
If the league rules that the Clippers are guilty of salary cap circumvention, the punishment could be severe. The Collective Bargaining Agreement lists the following punishments for salary cap circumvention:
- A fine of up to $7.5 million.
- A suspension of up to one year for any team personnel found to be willfully engaged in the violation.
- Contracts or transactions that violate league rules can be voided.
- The forfeiture of draft picks.
We’ll have to see if any of this even applies, because the league could announce no punishment at all. But if the Clippers, Ballmer and Leonard are found guilty, there’s quite a bit at stake here.
What’s At Stake for the Clippers & Raptors?
If Leonard’s contract is voided, the trade structure between the Clippers and Raptors crumbles. It creates a messy situation for the Raptors, who were happy to send Ingram, Dick and a haul of picks to the Clippers for the aging star. So what happens if that trade can’t be completed?
Would the Raptors try to find other trade partners to take on Ingram and Dick? Would they then become suitors for Leonard as a free agent? There were reports that the Raptors intended to sign Leonard to a contract extension upon completion of the trade, but signing him as a free agent isn’t an option. The Raptors are over the salary cap, so they need to trade guys like Ingram if they hope to bring in Leonard as a free agent — if his contract is voided by the league.
In the Clippers’ statement regarding the trade, they said “We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation.”
Given that statement, there’s a chance that the trade could still go through if the punishment comes in the form of fines and vacancy of draft picks. It would be a pretty big gamble for the Raptors to make on a 35 year old, though.
For the Clippers, there’s a world in which, if found guilty, they could shirk punishment if the Raptors agree to still trade for Leonard. The only real wrench in their plans comes if Leonard’s contract is voided, and they don’t get Ingram and a slew of draft picks.
There’s a lot of moving parts here though, so hopefully we’ll get a resolution soon and this saga can be put to bed.
Clippers-Kawhi Leonard Ruling To Come After Summer League