Kawhi Leonard’s return to the Toronto Raptors is being held up by the NBA’s investigation into allegations that his former team circumvented the salary cap to pay him an additional $28 million.
On June 30, the Los Angeles Clippers agreed to send Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks, as ESPN first reported.
Curiously, that deal has remained incomplete days after the league’s trade moratorium ended on July 6.
Now, in a team statement, the Raptors revealed they put the trade on hold until the league finishes a probe into Leonard and the Clippers that has already stretched 10 months and counting.
‘Regarding our planned trade with the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard, the NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,’ read the Raptors statement provided to The Daily Mail. ‘In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.’
The trade agreement is not off, and in their statement, the spokespeople reiterated the team’s desire to reacquire Leonard, who won a title with Toronto in 2019: ‘The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans.’
Kawhi Leonard should be heading back to Toronto, unless the Raptors opt against the deal
The Clippers agreed to send Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram (pictured) and other parts
Gradey Dick was also included in the deal, but now his future in LA is looking uncertain
In their statement, the Clippers once again denied any attempt to circumvent the salary cap in order to re-sign Leonard in 2022.
‘We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues,’ read the Clippers statement.
‘We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.’
The league has been investigating allegations that the Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap by funneling money to Leonard through an endorsement deal with Aspiration, a green banking company that has since gone bankrupt as its co-founder Joseph Sandberg has admitted to defrauding investors out of $248 million.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being sued in Los Angeles County by 11 of those investors, who accused him in court filings of skirting NBA salary-cap rules with the help of Aspiration.
The lawsuit was initially filed in July of 2025 without Ballmer’s name among the defendants. But in an amended complaint first revealed by podcaster Pablo Torre, the plaintiffs’ attorneys have accused the former Microsoft CEO of making a ‘corrupt deal’ with Sanberg, who has already pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges.
Steve Ballmer, the Clippers owner, shares a laugh with Kawhi Leonard after the All-Star signed with the team in July of 2019. Ballmer is accused of giving impermissible payments to Leonard
The amended lawsuit accused Ballmer of working with Sanberg to make the company appear successful, thereby enticing the plaintiffs to invest in Aspiration, while helping to ‘hide the rampant fraud occurring.’
Additionally, with a $50 million cash infusion for Aspiration, Ballmer allegedly circumvented the NBA’s salary cap by ensuring the investment would ultimately end up with Leonard. He’d later add another $10 million in March of 2023.
‘These funds would be channeled through Catona [formerly Aspiration] to Leonard so that Ballmer could induce Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers by covertly paying him more than allowed by the NBA’s salary cap rules,’ read the lawsuit obtained by Daily Mail.
The Plaintiffs claimed to have suffered more than $50 million in damages and are seeking a jury trial.
The Clippers did announce a $300 million partnership with Aspiration in 2021 months before Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million extension with the team.
However, the club ended the relationship after two years because the contract was in default.
The NBA previously investigated claims that Leonard’s representatives asked for improper perks in violation of the league salary cap several years earlier but did not find any violations.
As for the allegations involving Aspiration, Leonard has denied any wrongdoing and told reporters in September of 2025 he never received all the money he was owed from the company now known as Catona.
Asked about the allegation he did nothing in exchange for his multi-million payout from Aspiration, Leonard told reporters: ‘I don’t think it’s accurate.’
