The LA Clippers may finally have a target date for completing their planned transition from Kawhi Leonard to Brandon Ingram.
There is a belief in some corners of the NBA that the investigation holding up Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors could be resolved within the next six weeks, league insider Jake Fischer reported for The Stein Line.
The anticipated outcome would include some level of league sanctions against the Clippers but ultimately clear Los Angeles and Toronto to complete the trade they agreed to June 30.
Six weeks from Fischer’s report would place a potential resolution around Sept. 22, shortly before training camps open across the league. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has not offered a firm date, saying in July only that he expected the investigation to conclude “this summer.”
The Clippers officially still employ Leonard. Ingram and Gradey Dick remain Raptors. Until the NBA acts, both organizations must prepare for a season with the central piece of their offseason plans stuck in administrative limbo.
Clippers Waiting to Begin Their Next Era
The proposed trade would send Leonard to Toronto in exchange for Ingram, Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round selections.
It represents a significant reset for Los Angeles after Leonard’s six-season tenure.
Ingram, 28, would give the Clippers a younger scoring wing under contract beyond next season. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 38.2% from 3-point range for Toronto last season.
Dick, 22, offers another developmental piece, while the distant draft capital would restore flexibility to an organization that has spent years operating without control of many of its own first-round picks.
Leonard, meanwhile, is owed $50.3 million in the final season of his contract. Fischer reported that the 35-year-old believes the trade will be approved in time for him to attend Raptors training camp.
The Clippers’ ability to add Ingram and Dick on schedule now depends on how the NBA separates its investigation from the basketball transaction.
Steve Ballmer Prepared to Fight Potential Penalties
GettyLos Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Intuit Dome on February 4, 2026 in Inglewood, California.
The league hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz last September to investigate allegations that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by arranging compensation for Leonard outside his player contract.
The inquiry began after Pablo Torre reported that Leonard had signed a $28 million endorsement agreement, a now-bankrupt company in which Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested.
Torre later reported another alleged agreement involving Daktronics, the company that constructed the video board at Intuit Dome. The Clippers have consistently denied funneling money to Leonard or violating the collective bargaining agreement.
The recent Daktronics revelations were not new to investigators, according to Fischer. Wachtell already had examined that arrangement and Leonard’s ownership stake in a Rhode Island soccer club with indirect connections to Ballmer and the Clippers.
Steve Balmer and his Clippers are prepared to pursue arbitration depending on the severity of any NBA penalties, Fischer reported.
That possibility could extend the franchise’s legal fight with the league. It would not necessarily prevent the Leonard-Ingram trade from proceeding if the NBA clears Leonard’s contract and separates the transaction from sanctions against the Clippers.
For Los Angeles, that distinction could determine whether a stalled offseason finally restarts before camp.
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