Clippers-Raptors Trade Centered on Kawhi Leonard Will Not Complete Until NBA Clippers Investigation is Over
This blockbuster trade looked like a complete done deal with nothing impending its success. However, the league just pulled out a UNO card. What is the latest development of this basketball saga? Well, the Los Angeles Clippers-Toronto Raptors trade centered on Kawhi Leonard will not be complete until the NBA investigation into the Clippers is over.
On July 9, the Toronto Raptors released a statement regarding their trade with Los Angeles now being on pause. Toronto mentions,
“Regarding our planned trade with the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard, the NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi. In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.
The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans.”
Clippers-Raptors Trade Centered on Kawhi Leonard Will Not Complete Until NBA Clippers Investigation is Over
The Los Angeles Clippers also released a statement regarding their investigation as well as the agreement that had been reached with Toronto over Leonard. The LA franchise states,
“For the past 10 months, our organization has fully cooperated with an NBA investigation, participating in dozens of interviews, providing tens of thousands of documents, and facilitating access to our staff. While the process has been challenging, we have remained committed to transparency.
On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.
At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues.
We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”
There does not seem to be a solid timeframe for the NBA to wrap things up with Los Angeles. However, hopefully the situation will be resolved before next season. A NBA spokesperson reveals: “We don’t have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks.”
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