The Kawhi Leonard, the NBA, and the Los Angeles Clippers saga has affected multiple fronts, including the Toronto Raptors, who agreed to trade for Leonard last month.
While the trade is in limbo due to the NBA’s ongoing investigation into the Clippers and Leonard, the Raptors may still have the last laugh out of it.
According to NBA insider Michael Grange, the Raptors are expecting Leonard to report to training camp in Quebec City next month, despite the trade with the Clippers not being official just yet.
“For Raptors fans mainly interested in whether Leonard — whose trade to Toronto is paused as the Raptors wait until the league’s investigation is resolved before completing the deal — will play in Toronto this season, the bottom line as I see it is this: Leonard will be with the team in training camp on Sept. 29 in Quebec City,” Grange wrote via Sportsnet.
“Granted, that’s just me trying to make sense of the whole thing, but here’s why that’s my view: If the law firm investigating the Clippers on behalf of the NBA has definitive evidence that the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap, they likely would have provided their findings months ago.”
“If the law firm investigating the Clippers on behalf of the NBA has definitive evidence that the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap, they likely would have provided
What It Means For Kawhi Leonard Next Season
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 15: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers controls the ball against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game at Intuit Dome on April 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
That means Leonard could very well be starting the 2026-2027 NBA season as a Raptor once more, seven years since leading the team to their first-ever NBA championship in 2019.
That also means that forward Brandon Ingram, young guard Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round draft picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two future second-round draft picks (2030 and 2033) will be with the Clippers before the season’s tip-off.
This comes after reports indicated that the NBA’s investigation into Leonard and the Clippers could drag on until 2027. To put it into perspective, the initial expose that pushed Leonard into trouble happened in mid-2025.
The scandal centers on whether the Clippers circumvented league salary cap rules by facilitating a secret, four-year, $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal for Leonard with the now-defunct green-tech firm Aspiration.
Leonard put together a stellar 2025-26 NBA regular season for the Clippers, playing an unusually durable 65 games and earning his seventh All-Star selection with averages of 27.9 points and 1.9 steals per contest. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team.
The Possibility Of Kawhi Leonard Still Suiting Up For The Clippers
GettyDALLAS, TEXAS – MARCH 21: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers celebrates with a teammate during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on March 21, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Contrary to the aforementioned report, ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne sees a world where Kawhi Leonard would open the season with the Clippers, rather than the Raptors.
“It sounds crazy after a trade like this but this was the Toronto Raptors being given a choice of: are you willing to assume the risks of something happening with Kawhi Leonard after the investigation is completed?,” Shelbourne said on NBA Today.
“I can see a world in which Kawhi Leonard is back on the Clippers if this trade doesn’t go through. And the Clippers, quite frankly, are fine with that. Now, they did the trade. They like Brandon Ingram, but they like Kawhi Leonard too. This only happened because they weren’t really willing to extend him.”
It would be an awkward situation for both teams.
Until the resolution surfaces, Leonard’s team for next season remains uncertain.
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