Kawhi Leonard still expected to join Raptors as NBA investigation nears end

Kawhi Leonard‘s return to Toronto apparently remains on track. The question is what happens to the Clippers before he gets there.

Leonard expects the NBA’s investigation into allegations of salary-cap circumvention involving himself and Los Angeles to be completed before training camp, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Fischer added that Leonard remains on course to join the Raptors once the matter is resolved.

Meanwhile, the Clippers could be preparing for a fight of their own.

Per Fischer, Los Angeles is prepared to pursue arbitration depending on the penalties handed down by the NBA after the investigation is completed.

Commissioner Adam Silver said at Summer League in July that he expected the matter to be resolved sometime this summer, though he declined to provide a specific timetable.

The investigation stems from allegations involving outside business arrangements connected to Leonard.

Investigative journalist Pablo Torre recently reported that Leonard allegedly had an undisclosed sponsorship agreement with Daktronics, which supplied the massive video board at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome. Torre also reported on Leonard’s ownership stake in a Rhode Island soccer club with indirect connections to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the franchise.

According to Fischer, however, neither issue was news to investigators.

The Wachtell law firm, hired by the NBA to conduct the investigation, was already examining both matters before Torre’s latest report became public.

The probe originally began after Torre reported in September 2025 about Leonard’s alleged sponsorship arrangement with Aspiration, a company that later filed for bankruptcy. The central question has been whether outside payments to Leonard were connected to an attempt to circumvent NBA salary-cap rules.

Whatever the league ultimately decides could have significant consequences for the Clippers. It apparently won’t change the anticipated destination for Leonard.

Barring another development, all signs continue to point back to Toronto.