Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors trade is delayed because Clippers are still cleaning up their mess

We've reached the falling-action point of the story about the L.A. Clippers' salary-cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA dropped a bombshell punishment on the Clippers in early September , stripping the franchise of a half-decade's worth of first-round draft picks while also handing out ext

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What is the story about?

We've reached the falling-action point of the story about the L.A. Clippers' salary-cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA dropped a bombshell punishment on the Clippers in early September

, stripping the franchise of a half-decade's worth of first-round draft picks while also handing out extended suspensions to the leadership group, including owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, among others.

For those hoping to see Leonard return to the Toronto Raptors in a trade agreed to earlier this summer, I have bad news. Those very same Clippers suspensions are apparently delaying the finalization process between the two squads. Welp.

According to Jake Fischer, the Leonard-to-Raptors trade hasn't been finalized

yet because the Clippers are figuring out their front office structure in the wake of the Ballmer and Frank suspensions. That makes sense. Who wants to agree to the terms of a franchise-changing trade when you're not sure exactly who will be in charge for a good while?

Prime among reasons why Kawhi Leonard's trade to Toronto has yet to be finalized: Sources tell @TheSteinLine and me the Clippers are still working through their new front office structure after NBA suspensions for Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank.

More NBA: https://t.co/DA9iabgPaL pic.twitter.com/Sgv14NuUj4

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 8, 2026

It's unclear how much time the Clippers will need to sort things out before they finalize the Leonard deal. However, to note, Toronto's media day for the 2026-2027 season is Monday, September 28th. Presumably, with about three weeks at the time of this writing, the Clippers and Raptors will be able to figure things out by then and get Leonard back to Toronto.

It's just a matter of how the Clippers get up off the mat and dust themselves off.

What was Kawhi Leonard's punishment from the NBA?

Leonard received a $700,000 fine from the league and also saw his longtime associate, Dennis Robertson, banned from all future business dealings with the NBA.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors trade is delayed because Clippers are still cleaning up their mess