It took nearly three months, a league-wide investigation and a $7.45 million personal sacrifice, but Kawhi Leonard is finally a Toronto Raptor again.
Leonard waived his 15-percent trade kicker — worth $7.45 million — to allow the deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to go through, per ESPN. With the kicker included, the Raptors would have been pushed above the first apron cap. Without it, Toronto lands $2.3 million below that threshold — tight, but workable.
A deal three months in the making
The Clippers and Raptors first agreed to the deal on June 30. Then everything stopped. The NBA opened a formal investigation into the Clippers’ alleged cap circumvention involving a $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that has since filed for bankruptcy. The trade was frozen while the league worked through its findings.
The NBA handed down its verdict on September 2: a $30 million fine for the franchise, five forfeited first-round picks, and suspensions for owner Steve Ballmer, team president Gillian Zucker and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. Leonard received a personal fine of $700,000. Once the Clippers formally accepted the punishment last week, the trade was cleared to proceed.
What this means for both teams
For Toronto, this is a genuine franchise reset. Leonard, 35, returns to the city where he won a championship in 2019 — his only title. The Raptors are not a contender yet, but a healthy Leonard gives them a credible veteran presence as the front office rebuilds around younger talent.
The Clippers, meanwhile, are deep into a rebuild of their own. They lost Leonard to the Intuit Dome on a different kind of deal — a scandal that cost the franchise five first-rounders. Leonard leaves with the organization under a cloud, with Ballmer suspended for the entire 2026-27 season.
As for Leonard himself, waiving $7.45 million is not a small gesture. It signals he wanted this move. Back in Toronto, on a roster that will grow around him, he gets a quieter stage to close out whatever is left of his career on his own terms.
Source: ESPN — Hoops Rumors
