So many “updates” and “developments.” Just not the one Toronto Raptors fans have been waiting nearly three months for.
Back on June 30, the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers agreed to a trade that would send seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard to Toronto in one of the blockbuster deals of the offseason. Two Wednesdays ago, the NBA ruled on its investigation into the Clippers and Leonard for salary cap circumvention, fining both parties, issuing suspensions to owner Steve Ballmer, general manager Lawrence Frank and executive Gillian Zucker, and docking five first round picks from the Clippers. After the sanctions were announced, it was reported that the proposed trade sending Leonard to Toronto and stars Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to Los Angeles would get finalized in the coming days. Yet here we are, well past that.
Not only has the proposed trade seemingly not gathered any momentum toward completion, matters got immediately worse for Leonard and the Clippers when The New York Times reported Thursday evening that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has launched an investigation into both parties over potential criminal violations stemming from the NBA’s salary cap rules.
More Trouble May Be Brewing for Kawhi Leonard, and That’s Bad News for the Raptors
Take it from former Department of Justice trial attorney Michael Weinstein, who warned Leonard that he may be facing far more than the measly $700,000 fine he received from the NBA.
“The (Wachtell Lipton) report found the Clippers used four companies to route payments to Leonard off the books: Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance,” Front Office Sports reported Friday. “… The league handed down significant penalties to the Clippers, banning owner Steve Ballmer for a year and fining him $30 million, while stripping the team of five first-round draft picks. Leonard got off relatively light with a $700,000 fine. Weinstein tells FOS he was ‘slightly surprised’ to see news of the federal probe. ‘The opening of a criminal investigation brings this into new territory, and it’s a problem for all parties involved, he’ said, before adding: ‘The $700,000 fine is the least of (Leonard’s) problems at this point.’”
The report did, however, add that Leonard’s involvement in the federal probe doesn’t immediately mean he’ll get hit with additional penalties.
“The mere existence of the investigation doesn’t necessarily mean Leonard himself is in the government’s crosshairs, however,” the report stated. “Epner says potential charges could be difficult to bring against Leonard because of the layers between him and the alleged underlying conduct.”
Toronto Can Only Hope Leonard Isn’t Hit With More Trouble Amid Frozen Trade
The Raptors can’t move past this scandal fast enough. Although they had no ties to the NBA’s salary cap investigation and have no involvement in the probe launched by the Department of Justice, if Leonard is faced with additional penalties, it could only delay the trade from being completed. And even if it doesn’t, there’s no telling the kind of mess Toronto could get itself into if it potentially has a player actively involved in a federal investigation.
That noted, strictly on the Clippers and Raptors’ side of things, there is no pushback from the NBA on the frozen Leonard trade, with league insider Marc Stein reporting this week that both teams have the liberty to submit the trade for approval. L.A.’s front office is, however, stuck in disarray in the wake of the NBA’s investigation ruling.
“The Raptors, I’m told, are eager to consummate the trade after initially placing it on hold July 9 (to guard against a Leonard suspension or the outright voiding of his contract) and still firmly believe that the deal will happen as agreed upon and intended,” Stein reported for “The Stein Line.” “Ditto for Leonard and his camp.
“There have been steady rumbles since the league announced its sanctions against the Clippers last Wednesday that the team’s top executive under Frank — GM Trent Redden — is likely to emerge as LA’s new lead decision-maker. But there’s been no such formal announcement from the team yet.”
It remains to be seen how much longer the proposed Leonard trade stays frozen.
Raptors Get Brutal Kawhi Leonard Trade News After Major Clippers Development