The trade that would send former NBA champion Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Toronto Raptors has been put on hold while the league completes an investigation into the Clippers. Leonard is accused of receiving off-the-books money via an apparent endorsement deal designed to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap, and the trade cannot be finalised until the inquiry concludes. The delay matters because it leaves a high-profile move — reuniting Leonard with the franchise he won a title with in 2019 — in limbo and casts a cloud over the Clippers' conduct.

According to a Clippers statement to ESPN, the organisation has cooperated with the NBA probe for the past 10 months, taking part in dozens of interviews and providing tens of thousands of documents. The two sides reached an agreement in principle on 30 June, but the Clippers say they have been told the deal can only be completed if the Raptors' ownership group assumes the risk of any penalties tied to Leonard's contract. The team denied wrongdoing, saying it did not funnel money to Leonard through the firm Aspiration and that it was itself a victim of a fraud by Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.