Barring a direct punishment of Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, which isn’t considered any more likely now that the trade has been put on hold until the Aspiration investigation concludes, the terms of the blockbuster deal that will send the two-time Finals MVP back to the Raptors aren’t expected to be altered, according to Sam Amick, Eric Koreen and Law Murray of The Athletic.
As Amick, Koreen and Murray detail, the NBA warned Toronto that the ongoing investigation could cause issues with the trade when it was agreed upon in principle on June 30. That point was reiterated when the two teams scheduled a call with the league office to finalize the deal, which is why the Raptors decided to pause the trade for now until the investigation is complete.
Some people around the NBA believed commissioner Adam Silver might announced the results of the investigation on Tuesday at a Board of Governors meeting, per The Athletic, but a league spokesperson seemed to put a damper on that optimism when they said the law firm’s were expected to be finalized “in the coming weeks.”
According to Amick, Koreen and Murray, many league observers have been “bewildered” at the length of the investigation, which began last September after a series of podcasts from investigative journalist Pablo Torre alleged the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap to pay Leonard through a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-defunct “green banking” company.
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Leonard was in Toronto earlier this week when Kyle Lowry signed his ceremonial one-day contract to retire a Raptor and has already passed his physical, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up (Twitter video link). The 35-year-old star, who’s in the final year of his contract, has also begun extension talks with the Raptors, Windhorst added.
The trade delay gives the Raptors some time to explore the possibility of expanding the deal to include a third team, observes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The goal in that scenario, Grange explains, would be to send out another contract to a third club so Toronto isn’t taking back more salary than it’s sending out — the current structure would see the team hard-capped at the first tax apron. A potential third team’s inclusion would have no bearing on the main deal between the Clippers and Raptors, according to Grange’s sources.
Grange reiterates Toronto is unlikely to pursue ex-Raptors DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in part because of the team’s financial situation. Assuming the trade goes through as is, the Raptors would be over the first apron by signing a player to a veteran’s minimum contract, Grange notes.
In another story for Sportsnet.ca, Grange takes a look at the Raptors’ offseason development plan for 2025 lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles. The team is hoping to see the 2025/26 All-Rookie selection expand his game during Summer League, though he was out for Friday’s opener due to a finger sprain, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet. Second-year guard Alijah Martin was also sidelined because of knee inflammation.