Expert explains why Toronto Raptors are hesitant about Kawhi Leonard

For a week, it really looked like Kawhi Leonard was on his way back to the Toronto Raptors. He was even spotted in Yorkville and showed up at Kyle Lowry's retirement announcement.

That all changed on July 9, when the NBA put the pending trade for Leonard on hold until its ongoing salary cap circumvention investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, and Leonard is complete.

If you're wondering what that actually means, you're definitely not the only one.

To simplify it, the NBA essentially told Toronto that if the team wanted to complete this trade before the investigation wraps up, the Raptors would have to incur any potential consequences associated with Leonard.

Former ESPN reporter-turned-podcaster Pablo Torre reported in September 2025 that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer allegedly circumvented the NBA salary cap by compensating Leonard through a third-party company that Ballmer had previously invested in.

It is illegal under the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement for any player to receive compensation or any financial arrangement outside their official contract.

Torre addressed the Raptors' trade for Leonard in a social media video on Friday, saying that the reason Toronto has chosen not to finalize this trade is that they are concerned that Leonard did something worthy of punishment.

Buyer beware: @PabloTorre on why the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Raptors is now on hold, how to read between the lines of the Clippers' sudden statement — and what the hell changed over the last 10 days. pic.twitter.com/srvB5eEUsd

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) July 10, 2026

The NBA has effectively informed the Raptors that any penalties Leonard could potentially face from the Clippers' investigation would become Toronto's responsibility if the trade were completed now.

According to Torre, the Raptors' statement is essentially the organization saying it cannot move forward with the trade without more clarity.

"Toronto is saying, 'We can't trade for this guy under these conditions because we think there is something he did worth punishing,'" Torre said in the clip.

The proposed deal between the Raptors and Clippers had Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, plus several draft picks heading to Los Angeles, with Leonard coming back to Toronto.

The two teams were reportedly set to finalize the trade this week before the NBA intervened.

Torre said the details of the NBA investigation into Leonard and the Clippers have long been public, but he believes new information may have emerged in the last 10 days that could have given Toronto cold feet.

The league said on July 9 that it does not have a "specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation," but expects the independent firm conducting it to finalize its work in the coming weeks.