New Kawhi Leonard Rumor Could Destroy Toronto Raptors Championship Aspirations

This summer in the NBA has seen some unbelievable headlines: the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, 22-time All-Star LeBron James, left the Los Angeles Lakers to join the Philadelphia 76ers; 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown was traded to the 76ers in exchange for nine-time All-Star Paul George; 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat; and so many more. There is no doubt, however, that down the line, NBA fans will remember the summer of 2026 for one thing: the Kawhi Leonard-Los Angeles Clippers salary cap circumvention case. 

It’s been just over a week since the official ruling that the Clippers would be forced to forfeit five first-round picks, among other penalties. The Toronto Raptors and their fans have been waiting for nearly two and a half months for the trade sending the seven-time All-Star back to Canada to become official. Earlier this week, Jake L. Fischer reported that the reason for the trade’s stalling since the investigation’s conclusion was likely due to the uncertainty in leadership now that president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended for six months. 

Just days after this breath of fresh air for Raptors fans, Marc Stein introduced an idea that, if true, could decimate all hopes of a deep playoff run this season. 

“League observers are wondering aloud if the Clippers are holding off on the trade or even ‘considering something even more drastic’ to spite Kawhi Leonard for accepting the league’s punishment rather than pursuing an appeal, per @TheSteinLine” (via Fullcourtpass on X). 

What exactly this entails is unclear, but it can be inferred that Stein is insinuating that the Clippers are gauging the trade market for Leonard to ship him somewhere he would rather not be, out of spite. It would take a franchise truly willing to risk it all for a championship this season, given that Leonard would likely not sign an extension. This obviously wouldn’t be the first time it has been done; the two-time DPOY won his second championship and Finals MVP with Toronto in 2019 in the final guaranteed year of his contract before declining his player option, signed by the San Antonio Spurs, before eventually departing to Los Angeles. 

Regardless, this would be a very unusual and sketchy business move for the Clippers, especially without their true head of basketball operations or owner taking part in the deal. Some believed that Raptors general manager Bobby Webster could potentially lessen his offer for Leonard now that LA is desperate for draft compensation, but that seemed highly unlikely given the professionalism of the franchise. On the Clippers' side, this is all happening while the organization just allowed Bradley Beal to take jersey No. 3 going into next season, famously worn by franchise legend Chris Paul. Many expected his jersey to be entered into the rafters of the Intuit Dome, but now everything is in question with this unstable organization.

Getting back to the Raptors, if this preposterous idea were to come to fruition, it would prove to be detrimental to the team’s chemistry going into next season. Two-time All-Star Brandon Ingram was reported to be working out in the Clippers’ facility every day, thus making it an extremely awkward homecoming if he were no longer traded to LA. Not to mention, everyone in the organization understands the Raptors don’t have a chance of winning the NBA Finals with Ingram as the leading scorer; that was the whole purpose of using draft picks to replace him with a two-time Finals MVP fresh off a career-high season in points per game (27.9). 

In all likelihood, this is just an idea being discussed among different people within the NBA, rather than an actual report with real traction. It’s not time for Raptors fans to panic just yet, but if somehow this trade truly does eventually get rejected by the Clippers, Webster may need to get creative in the trade market to get the team back into a contending mindset.