The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors remain at a standstill regarding the proposed trade that would bring Kawhi Leonard back to Canada.
Leonard’s seven-year tenure with the Clippers ended after he was traded to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, June 30, for forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033), two second-round picks (2030, 2033) and a 2027 first-round swap.
Both teams have since put a halt to the trade, citing the ongoing investigation surrounding Leonard, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and Leonard’s uncle/advisor Dennis Robertson. All three men were allegedly involved in a “no-show” agreement with a company, Aspiration, to funnel extra compensation to the player as part of a salary cap circumvention.
There’s a belief that both sides are still willing to go through with the deal with the assumption that there will be limited consequences for the parties involved.
“My timeline remains this summer,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said when talking to reporters on Thursday, July 14. “… I’m not conducting the investigation … as I’ve said previously, we all have an interest in wrapping this up, and I most recently said in an interview that I am hopeful it will wrap up this summer and that will continue to be the goal here.”
Silver will be responsible for deciding on any potential discipline after the law firm conducting the investigation delivers its findings to him.
Silver stated that he expects the investigation to be concluded this summer.
“I want to clarify that the league did not pause the trade,” Silver said. “The parties involved in the trade decided not to move forward, given that the investigation remained open and any potential impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known, so they chose not to live with that uncertainty.”
The commissioner also mentioned that it was well known before the trade was proposed that Leonard’s potential status or repercussions from the investigation wouldn’t change because he was traded.
“I can’t comment on the specifics of the investigation, but what I can say is we did not do what we are accused of doing,” said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, on June 23. “The investigation has had no impact on how we go about our business. We just continue to go about our business as normal.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA hopes for Kawhi Leonard, Clippers investigation to end by summer
