The Toronto Raptors have sat back and yawned numerous times since last Wednesday, when the NBA flexed its muscle on the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.
Back in late June, the Raptors and Clippers agreed to a trade to send Leonard back to the Raptors, with both sides prepared to hold off on completing the deal until the NBA concluded its investigation into Leonard and the Clippers for salary cap circumvention. After the league ruled on the investigation last Wednesday, it was reported that the proposed trade between the Raptors and Clippers would soon get finalized. Yet here we are, approaching eight days since that report.
Raptors Don’t Have Any Reason to Worry
Looking to shoot their way up the ranks in the Eastern Conference and compete for a championship, the Raptors decided to take a swing on Leonard, the 35-year-old, two-time Finals MVP who led the franchise to its first-ever title seven years ago. Toronto is left waiting for the trade to finish.
According to NBC Sports NBA insider Kurt Helin, the clear expectation is that the Leonard trade will be completed.
“An agreement was in place to trade Leonard to Toronto, but the Raptors put that on hold, waiting to see the outcome and punishments from the NBA’s investigation (they would have been on the hook if Leonard were suspended, for example),” Helin wrote. “Now that the report is (largely) finished and the punishments handed down, the trade can move forward. So why hasn’t the trade happened yet? First, the trade absolutely will go through, multiple league sources told NBC Sports. That is considered a given. Nobody is pulling out of this deal, both because it would crush reputations to agree to something and then pull out, and also because both sides get things they want out of this trade.”
Clippers Infuriated in Aftermath of Investigation
All signs point to Leonard eventually landing in Toronto, but the Clippers, meanwhile, are irate with the league’s ruling on the investigation, and their anger has translated to resentment toward Leonard, whose punishment pales in comparison to what the Clippers received.
“There is some element that Los Angeles is frustrated and disappointed by the fact that Kawhi Leonard essentially got off scot-free here,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Tuesday. “Leonard, to my understanding, is working with the players’ union and the NBA to come up with that $700,000 fine agreement and announce some form of settlement that will allow Kawhi to move forward and join the Toronto Raptors.”
As for what is causing the delay in the trade between the Raptors and Clippers from finalizing, The Athletic reports that the hold up is from L.A.’s side.
“Per league sources, the Raptors, Leonard’s camp and the camps of other prominent players in the trade remain very confident it will go through soon. Leonard, it should be noted, is known to be with his Raptors teammates (in an unofficial capacity) on a retreat of sorts in Miami this week, but according to multiple league sources, the Clippers have indicated the impact of the league’s discipline on their front-office structure is the reason for the delay.”
Leonard, meanwhile, is already looking forward to returning to the Raptors after leaving the team as a free agent in 2019. The seven-time All-Star recently joined other Raptors players in an informal workout as he expects the trade to be completed in the coming days.
Raptors Get Major Kawhi Leonard Trade Update After New Clippers Development