Over the past 11 months, the NBA world has long awaited the outcome of the investigation involving the Los Angeles Clippers, former lead sponsor Aspiration, and seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard. After the idea that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was circumventing the salary cap by funneling money to the superstar through the sponsor, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver launched the investigation to determine whether or not this accusation was true. 

Since the dawn of one of the biggest controversies in the league’s history, news has broken of other sponsorships Leonard has been potentially illegally linked to, potential punishments for both him and the Clippers, along with the attempt to trade the two-time Finals MVP to the Toronto Raptors. Until the investigation is concluded, nothing has or will be confirmed, which has caused a nightmare for the team that potentially lost him to the suspicious partnership in the first place. 

Finally, ESPN announced breaking news today, citing sources who said no evidence has been found of formal circumvention of the salary cap by either party. While the headline immediately granted a sigh of relief for Raptors fans, more reading is required to understand the full story. Because the whole intent of the investigation was debunked, one would like to think the introduced potential punishments are now off the table. However, Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes, and Ramona Shelburne explained that the league is now focusing on the idea that the Clippers may have failed to supervise employees relating to the team’s sponsors, “though it's unclear what specific rule the team would have violated or what the penalties would be, two of the sources said". 

Not even an hour later, NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass issued a statement debunking the article. 

"ESPN's article regarding the LA Clippers investigation - for which the NBA declined to cooperate  - contains numerous and significant inaccuracies," said Bass. "The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded."

From the outside looking in, it appeared Silver knew that everything going on behind the scenes throughout Leonard’s tenure as a Clipper wasn’t completely ethical, but he had no way to prove it. Once it appeared that the exact findings had been concluded, he was looking for a way to show that the 11-month-long investigation wasn’t for nothing, especially after it appeared the proof was in the pudding once the entire conflict began. 

Now, after Bass's statement, everything is up in the air. If prestigious writers from ESPN are publishing an article saying one thing, just for the NBA to immediately refute the statements made, there may not be anyone who truly knows what's going on outside of the direct people involved in the investigation. 

Moving forward, again, it would be reasonable to assume that the process would move swiftly to being behind everyone. However, the fact that the league is making a point to establish that nothing has been completed yet should be a sign that this may still take a long time. There may truly not be anyone who really understands how long it will take to know whether or not Leonard will be a Raptor again, so all fans can do is wait for more updates until that day arrives.