Major Kawhi Leonard News Gives Toronto Raptors Hope For Fresh Start

The Toronto Raptors have found themselves in an uncertain position after they agreed to trade for Kawhi Leonard, who is in the middle of an ongoing NBA investigation about a possible salary circumvention with the Los Angeles Clippers. 

However, the Raptors may have just found the light on the other end of the tunnel with major news from a Toronto insider. According to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, the NBA investigation into Leonard and the Clippers is at an advanced stage, and various parties are now working toward a negotiated resolution ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. 

“Per league sources, there’s a belief the investigation has already moved beyond its fact-finding stage and the parties involved — specifically the Clippers and the NBPA (which is monitoring the situation to see what if any consequences befall Leonard),” Grange reported. “[They] are working quietly to get the entire issue resolved, something Silver hinted at back on July 14 when he last spoke publicly on the issue.”

This means that the Raptors could proceed with the agreed-upon trade to get Leonard from the Clippers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and future draft capital.

Currently, it is stalled pending an NBA probe into the Clippers.

New Developments Emerge About Kawhi Leonard And LA Clippers

GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 23: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Intuit Dome on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

This comes after journalist Pablo Torre uncovered a second secret, multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal involving Kawhi Leonard and LA Clippers partners that allegedly served as a method to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

Reporting on his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre revealed that Leonard allegedly signed a hidden “ghost” contract with Daktronics, the manufacturer behind the $100 million “Halo Board” scoreboard inside the Clippers’ Intuit Dome. 

They found no public record or advertisements showing that Leonard ever performed promotional work for the company, which historically does not even use celebrity endorsers.

According to a high-level insider under contract for the Intuit Dome, who spoke to Torre, the deal was openly joked about within the organization as being “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap” by funneling money from the team to Leonard outside his standard player contract.

In an earlier report by ESPN, the complex league investigation could potentially stretch into 2027 if a resolution is not reached first, which would keep the Leonard trade in limbo for a longer time. 

NBA, Toronto Raptors Want To Get This Over With

GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 09: LA Clippers fans taunt the Toronto Raptors during the second half of a game at Intuit Dome on November 09, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

According to Grange, the NBA and the Raptors want to get this behind them. 

Last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver even expressed his desire to see this be resolved before the new NBA season starts in September. 

“I think, yes, it is realistic to think that this can be wrapped up, and I would say needs to be wrapped up, before the beginning of the next season,” Silver said. “On one hand, of course at the end of the day, as the commissioner in this league, I’m the one who ultimately engaged Wachtell. So sure, I could tell them to stop, and I’ve read those reports where people are saying, just tell them to stop.”

Silver is also looking to strike a perfect balance between everyone’s interests. 

“But also the benefit of an independent investigation is they have their own credibility on the line, and presumably, I can count on Wachtell to say to me, ‘well, of course, ultimately if you say we have to stop, we’ll stop. But in our report, we’re going to say we were required to stop before we felt we had a complete understanding of this situation.’ So it’s just finding that right balance,” Silver said. 

For now, all the parties involved could only wait for the private investigators to wrap up the investigation and finally put an end to an issue that has already gone on for over a year. 

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