The trade sending Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto is stuck. Agreed on June 30, it has been frozen since July 9 with no resolution in sight.
The NBA announced the Clippers-Raptors deal cannot close until the league finishes its probe into whether Los Angeles circumvented the salary cap. The question at the center of it: did the Clippers funnel money to Leonard through a $28 million endorsement contract with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt green banking company, effectively paying him outside the cap?
The deal that can’t move forward
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the trade would have sent Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-rounders. A blockbuster with real stakes: Leonard is the only player to have led the Raptors to an NBA title, doing it in 2019.
Toronto will not absorb the risk. In their statement, the Raptors said they “remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto” and want a “swift resolution” – but they will not take on potential penalties. The Clippers drew a firm line in return: the transaction “can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties.”
The Aspiration case
Aspiration had a $300 million, 23-year sponsorship deal with the Clippers and separately signed Leonard to a $28 million personal endorsement contract. Owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million of his own money in the company. The NBA is now asking whether Leonard’s Aspiration deal was a real commercial arrangement – or a backdoor pay raise disguised as a sponsorship.
Ballmer says his team was defrauded, not the perpetrator. “We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration,” the Clippers stated. “We were victims of a fraud initiated by [co-founder Joe] Sanberg.” Sanberg was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Leonard himself (35) has been interviewed by investigators. So has his uncle and business adviser Dennis Robertson. An NBA spokesperson confirmed that outside counsel expects to “finalize its work in the coming weeks.” Commissioner Adam Silver has signaled the process is close to its end.
What Leonard stands to lose
In the worst-case scenario, Leonard’s contract with the Clippers could be voided by the league – a nuclear outcome that would leave him without a team and with a deeply uncertain future. The Clippers insist that will not happen. But the uncertainty is real, and it hangs over both franchises until the league rules.
Leonard comes off a career-best scoring season: 27.9 points in 65 games. Seven-time All-Star, two-time champion (San Antonio 2014, Toronto 2019), two-time Finals MVP. His return to Toronto would be one of the more emotionally loaded stories of the summer – if it ever clears.
For now, it’s in the lawyers’ hands.
Sources: Shams Charania, ESPN | CBS Sports
[Update – July 17, 2026] NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the Kawhi Leonard investigation publicly at the Las Vegas Summer League. Silver stated the probe “needs to be wrapped up” before next season and confirmed “this summer” as his target timeline. He also clarified that the NBA did not direct the trade parties to pause the deal: “the parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward, given that the investigation remained open.” Additionally, reports indicate the scope of the probe has expanded to include a previously unreported endorsement deal Leonard had with a second company, beyond the Aspiration arrangement at the center of the original inquiry. Sources: NBA.com / Hoops Rumors.
[Update – July 25, 2026] The NBA’s investigation into the Clippers-Aspiration endorsement arrangement has reportedly concluded, per The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. Several procedural steps remain before the league issues a formal ruling and determines whether the Clippers-Raptors trade can be completed. Commissioner Adam Silver has stated the investigation must wrap before the start of next season. Source: Yahoo Sports
