The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors had a deal in place that would send Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for  Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks.

The deal had not been officially announced by either team or the league by the time the new season began on July 6, when deals and signings became official. 

On Thursday, the Clippers put out a statement revealing that the trade would not be completed until the NBA concluded its investigation into Kawhi and the Clippers regarding allegations of Kawhi being paid under the table through a "no-show" sponsorship with Aspiration. 

In the Clippers' statement, it is said that "the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors' ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation." 

The investigation began in September, and Kawhi played the entire 2025-26 season without penalty. 

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, "The expectation around all sides is that this deal will end up happening at the end of the day." 

It is unclear when the investigation will conclude. 

The Clippers signed a $300 million sponsorship deal with Aspiration and introduced Leonard to the company. The Clippers have accused Aspiration and Joe Sanberg for fraud, and Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in prison in June after being found guilty of fraud. 

If Kawhi is only fined, the deal will likely go through, and every party will move forward. If Kawhi is suspended, depending on how long the suspension is, the Raptors may rescind the deal or alter the draft compensation that would go back to the Clippers. 

On the chance that Kawhi's contract is voided, that would make him a free agent. 

The other part of this is that neither team can truly move forward with their offseason plans until they know 100% the deal will go through.

Signings are unchanged for the Clippers, as they are shaving $3 million off their salary this upcoming season in the trade. If they were having talks about sending Ingram elsewhere, those talks are now on hold. For the Raptors, they thought they had a move to send Ingram elsewhere and would likely have to hold other talks if this deal ends up falling through. 

For the sake of all parties, the investigation will hopefully come to an end soon.