Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto has spent the summer trapped between nostalgia and an NBA investigation. On Wednesday, the biggest obstacle finally moved out of the way.
The NBA announced that Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers violated the league’s salary-cap circumvention rules, ending the central phase of an investigation that had prevented Toronto from completing its blockbuster trade for the two-time Finals MVP. Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000, while the Clippers received dramatically harsher penalties, including a $30 million fine and the forfeiture of five first-round picks.
Hours later, Leonard addressed the ruling — and his impending return to the Toronto Raptors — in a statement posted to Instagram.
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am,” Leonard wrote. “I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.”
Leonard maintained that he entered his Clippers contract and the outside agreements “in good faith” and said he had no knowledge of an attempt to circumvent the salary cap.
Then came the line that will matter most in Toronto.
“As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate,” Leonard wrote.
NBA Finds Clippers, Leonard Violated Salary-Cap Rules
The league’s conclusions were far more severe than the relatively modest financial penalty imposed on Leonard.
According to the NBA, the Clippers created and facilitated off-court income opportunities for Leonard involving four companies that did business with the franchise: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance. The investigation also found that the Clippers paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives.
The league said Leonard, through former business manager Dennis Robertson, violated circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to help secure outside income opportunities and by failing to reimburse certain personal expenses. Robertson was banned from doing business with NBA teams for five years.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension, while business operations president Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year.
Commissioner Adam Silver called the violations “flagrant” and said the penalties reflected the seriousness of the misconduct.
Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors Return Moves Forward
For Toronto, the significance is more immediate.
The Raptors and Clippers agreed on June 30 to a deal sending Leonard back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, second-rounders in 2030 and 2033, and a 2027 first-round swap.
Toronto later put the transaction on hold after the NBA warned that the Raptors would assume the risk of any punishment attached to Leonard while the investigation remained unresolved. The Raptors publicly said they would wait for the probe to conclude.
Raptors Star Kawhi Leonard Breaks Silence After NBA Ruling