Eddie Johnson says Kawhi Leonard will eventually make the Hall of Fame but predicts voters will make him wait after the Clippers scandal.
The San Antonio Spurs are a title contender now, harkening back to a time when Kawhi Leonard helped the franchise win the NBA Finals.
Fast-forward to now, as Leonard's trade back to Toronto officially went through Monday. A day later, SiriusXM NBA Radio posted a clip of Eddie Johnson predicting Leonard would not get into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on his first or second try.
Johnson was talking with Andrew Bogusch. The network's post framed the discussion around how the scandal involving the former San Antonio Spurs star could affect his Hall of Fame voting.
Johnson spent 17 seasons in the NBA. He won Sixth Man of the Year with the Phoenix Suns in 1989.
On Sept. 2, the league ordered Leonard to pay $700,000 after an independent investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
Dennis Robertson, his uncle and former business manager, was found to have been "pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities" on Leonard's behalf. The Los Angeles Clippers had also covered personal expenses Leonard never paid back. Robertson is barred from doing business with NBA teams for five years.
Eddie Johnson Predicts Hall of Fame Delay
Johnson expects players who shared a locker room with Leonard to reach Springfield first.
"When he retires, he will not get in there the first or second time," Johnson said. "I just truly believe that they're going to blackball him for about three or four years before he gets voted in. He'll eventually get in. But I think they're going to make him sweat. It's not going to be cut and dry. And it's going to show when guys that he played with gets in before he does. That's going to be the message sent to Kawhi. And rightly so."
Three of Leonard's teammates from San Antonio are already enshrined. Tim Duncan went in with the Class of 2020. Manu Ginóbili followed in 2022, and Tony Parker was inducted in 2023.
Players used to wait three full seasons after retiring. Hall chairman Jerry Colangelo said that rule "effectively equated to a four-year wait" when the Hall dropped it to two seasons ahead of the Class of 2025.
Leonard Built Hall of Fame Résumé With Spurs, Raptors
Leonard did not start his career in San Antonio. The Indiana Pacers drafted him 15th overall in 2011 and traded his rights to the Spurs on draft night.
He spent seven seasons with San Antonio. The Spurs won the 2014 championship, and Leonard was named Finals MVP. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016 and led the league in steals in 2015. His two All-NBA First Team selections with the Spurs came in 2016 and 2017.
Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 74 games in 2016-17. He finished third in MVP voting that year.
A right quadriceps injury held him to nine games the next season. On July 18, 2018, San Antonio sent him and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick.
With the Raptors, Leonard won the 2019 title and a second Finals MVP before signing with the Clippers that summer.
He is a seven-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA selection, and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Clippers Hit With Major Penalties
Los Angeles was fined $30 million in the same ruling and must forfeit its first-round picks from 2029 through 2033.
Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from all league and team activities for one year. President of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for one year, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.
"We vehemently reject the NBA's findings," the Clippers said. Ballmer's attorney, David Kelley, called the investigation "a witch hunt" in a letter to Commissioner Adam Silver.
Leonard's response came through his agent, Harrison Gaines.
"Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am," Leonard said in the statement.
He denied knowing about anyone's effort to get around the salary cap.
Pablo Torre reported on Leonard's $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration in September 2025. The NBA opened its investigation that month.
Aspiration had filed for bankruptcy earlier that year, and co-founder Joseph Sanberg was later sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.
Leonard Returns to Toronto
The ruling cleared the way for a trade that had been on hold since June 30.
On Monday, the Clippers and Raptors completed the deal that sends Leonard back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033.
Leonard, 35, averaged 27.9 points in 65 games for the Clippers last season. He is expected to sign an extension with Toronto.
The Raptors and Clippers meet in a preseason game in Vancouver on Oct. 10. Toronto visits Los Angeles on Nov. 2.
