Kawhi Leonard will apparently be leaving a big ol’ mess in Los Angeles and dipping.
The agreed-upon trade between the Toronto Raptors and the LA Clippers for the seven-time All-Star Leonard is now an all-systems-go, Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Wednesday. Charania notes that Leonard, who neither got his contract voided by the league nor was suspended, is expected to officially be headed to Toronto “in the next few days.”
This news comes shortly after the NBA formally handed down a harsh punishment to the Clippers (docking them five first-round picks, fining them $30 million, and issuing multiple suspensions to high-ranking Clippers figures) over their alleged circumvention of the salary cap with Leonard. The Clippers had been accused of using fake endorsement deals to funnel under-the-table money to Leonard in clear violation of NBA rules.
Meanwhile, Leonard himself was also fined a sum of $700,000 by the league but seemingly got off lightly given that his contract was not voided and that he was not suspended. Leonard has since issued a public statement about the saga saying that he accepted responsbility for “lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle” (read his statement in full here).
Now Leonard can officially turn his attention back to the court. The 35-year-old is entering his final year under contract next season at $50.3 million, resulting in the Clippers deciding back in June to trade him to the Raptors for a package based around former All-Star Brandon Ingram and several other pieces.
A few days later however, the Raptors decided to put the trade on hold given that they were not comfortable with assuming the risk of Leonard possibly being suspended or having his contract voided. But now they have received the all-clear to proceed with the Leonard trade with less than a month to go now before the start of training camp.
