Key Points
- The Clippers are nearing a deal to send Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
- Toronto sends Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap and two seconds.
- It returns Leonard to the team he led to the 2019 title as Finals MVP.
- Leonard preferred to stay in LA, but the Clippers made no long-term commitment.
The Los Angeles Clippers are nearing a deal to send Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.
The trade returns Leonard to the franchise he led to its only NBA title in 2019, when he was named Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points in the series win over Golden State. Leonard preferred to stay with the Clippers, but the team made no long-term commitment this offseason; his representatives told other clubs he would extend only with Toronto, which is prepared to sign him to a multi-year deal, per ESPN.
Seven years after he left Toronto for Los Angeles, the move closes the book on a Clippers era that never reached a conference final and hands the Raptors back the player who delivered their only championship. It lands in an offseason already reshaped at the top, with LeBron James leaving the Lakers and the Timberwolves acquiring LaMelo Ball — and it pries loose a star coming off the best season of his career, one in which he scored 45 on 75% shooting in a single night.
Update (July 9): The trade has been put on hold pending the NBA's investigation into the Clippers over whether the team circumvented the salary cap through Leonard's Aspiration endorsement deal. The investigation's fact-finding phase has since concluded, with the trade still on hold as the case moves to league review.
Source: ESPN, Shams Charania.
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