Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes embraced at the Clippers’ Summer League game in Las Vegas, hours after word that the Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto is on hold.
Coming off a 46-36 season that ended with a seven-game first-round loss to Cleveland, the Toronto Raptors made the defining move of their offseason on June 30, agreeing to a deal that would bring back Kawhi Leonard. He took home NBA Finals MVP honors in 2019 when Toronto beat Golden State for its first championship in franchise history.
In return, Los Angeles gets Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, plus a package of draft capital that includes unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033, the right to swap first-round picks in 2027 and a pair of second-round selections. As of Friday morning, the deal remained unfinished.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the trade will not be completed until the NBA finishes its investigation into the Clippers. The league is examining whether Los Angeles circumvented salary-cap rules by steering money to Leonard through an endorsement agreement with Aspiration, a now-defunct green-banking company that had sponsored the team.
The investigation dates to September 2025, when the league brought in the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz after Pablo Torre first reported on the alleged arrangement, described as a no-show endorsement deal.
“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,” the Clippers said in a statement provided to ESPN.
Currently, the trade can be finalized only if Raptors ownership accepts the risk of penalties tied to Leonard’s contract, which is why Toronto would rather wait for the league’s findings. The Raptors have said they remain eager to bring Leonard back and want a prompt resolution.
Hours after the report surfaced, two of the players caught in the middle of that uncertainty shared a moment.
Ingram and Scottie Barnes, teammates in Toronto last season, embraced at the Clippers-Kings Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Ingram led the club with 21.5 points per game in 2025-26, his lone season with the Raptors, adding 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists across 77 games while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three.
Limited to five of Toronto’s seven first-round games against Cleveland by a right heel issue, the 28-year-old averaged just 12 points on 32.8 percent shooting in the series. Ingram had a bone spur removed from the heel in May, and the Raptors announced that a full recovery is anticipated in time for the opening of training camp in September.
Barnes, an All-Star in 2023-24, posted 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game on 50.7 percent shooting over 80 games in 2025-26.
An NBA spokesperson said the outside counsel handling the investigation expects to finish its work in the coming weeks.
