While the Los Angeles Clippers are still reeling from the news of their punishment from the NBA after an investigation into the Clippers' attempt at circumventing the NBA salary cap through an endorsement deal between Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration, the one positive that was supposed to come from the end of the investigation was that the Clippers would finally be able to move forward with the trade of Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.

But the ramifications of the Clippers' punishment from the NBA seem to have far-reaching affects and are still standing in the way of making the deal happen. 

The Clippers and Raptors originally came to an agreement to trade Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a 2027 first-round pick swap back in July, but the Raptors pressed pause on the deal after the NBA informed them that by trading for Leonard, they would be absorbing any of the risk associated with him as a result of the at the time ongoing investigation.

That meant that the end of the investigation essentially became the timeline for when the trade could actually go through, with both sides reportedly agreeing to keep the terms of the deal the same despite the delay. 

But now that the investigation is done, there's a new reason that the trade is being delayed and it's still directly tied to the Clippers' punishment. 

One of the several consequences of the end of the investigation, among fines and the forfeiture of first-round picks, is the suspensions of owner Steve Ballmer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and president of business operations Gillian Zucker. 

With both Ballmer and Frank suspended, Ballmer for one year and Frank for six months, the Clippers are left without any leaders in the front office and thus, no one to formally approve the trade of Leonard. 

Per a report from Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, the Clippers are still trying to work through their new front office structure and trying to develop a hierarchy with in the organization before the organization can finalize the Leonard trade. 

There are a few candidates who can take over for Ballmer and Frank for the time being, including vice chairman Dennis Wong and vice president of basketball affairs Lee Jenkins, but operating a trade for a player of Leonard's magnitude, even if the terms were already agreed upon, still takes a certain level of care and the Clippers need to be certain who is running the ship before approving anything.