The Los Angeles Clippers agreed to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors back in June — a stunning development not just because he was coming off one of his best seasons in LA, but because he's the same player the organization went all-in to bring them a championship. Now, seven years later, he's heading back to the organization he last won a title with. But NBA commissioner Adam Silver insisted all summer that the trade couldn't be finalized until the league's investigation into Leonard's Aspiration deal had concluded.
The league made it official: its findings concluded the Clippers violated salary cap circumvention rules by helping Leonard secure lucrative off-court endorsement deals and income opportunities. As a result, the organization has been fined a hefty $30 million and forced to forfeit five first-round picks — in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033. Multiple members of the organization have also been suspended from all league and team activities for one year, including owner Steve Ballmer.
What makes the situation even worse is that this isn't the first time the team has fumbled the bag. When the Clippers signed Leonard in 2019, they also traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks, and two pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul George. Now they've lost both players, 10 first-round picks, two pick swaps, and a two-time MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander — and they have zero titles to show for it.
More news: Rockets Sign Budding Star to $208 Million Contract Extension When Leonard first arrived in LA, he had just won a title with the Raptors and looked like he was on top of the world. So when the Clippers also traded for George, it immediately put them in the championship conversation. But things quickly fizzled.
In that first season with their two new stars, the Clippers went 49-23 and lost to the Nuggets in the conference semifinals. The following year, they finished 47-25 and made it to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the Suns. The next season, they missed the playoffs entirely, then suffered three straight first-round exits before finishing 42-40 last season.
More news: Kawhi Leonard Trade Gets Major Update After NBA Investigation More news: Ravens GM Drops Telling Comment on Lamar Jackson’s Future in Baltimore George left for Philadelphia in 2024 and was recently traded again, this time to Boston. During his entire tenure in LA, he never lived up to the peak he'd reached in OKC when the Clippers traded for him. Leonard had been far more productive, though he also missed significant time to injury, including sitting out the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL.
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