Kawhi Leonard has joined Toronto Raptors players for a minicamp in Miami while awaiting the completion of his agreed trade from the Los Angeles Clippers back to Toronto.
Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported Tuesday that Leonard is participating in the Raptors’ minicamp but remains limited to individual workouts because the trade has not yet been officially completed. Toronto is waiting for Los Angeles to finalize the transaction, which Leonard and the Raptors expect to go through.
“Prime among reasons why Kawhi Leonard’s trade to Toronto has yet to be finalized: Sources tell @TheSteinLine and me the Clippers are still working through their new front office structure after NBA suspensions for Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank,” Fischer wrote.
Stein reported that Leonard has joined the Raptors in Miami but is currently restricted to individual work because his verbally agreed trade remains unofficial.
The delay comes after the NBA concluded its investigation into the Clippers and Leonard over alleged salary-cap circumvention. The league found that the Clippers initiated and facilitated off-court income opportunities between Leonard and four companies doing business with the organization: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.
The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million and ordered the franchise to forfeit its first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts. Ballmer was suspended for one year, while Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension without pay.
Leonard was fined $700,000, while his former business manager Dennis Robertson received a five-year ban from conducting business with NBA teams and affiliates on behalf of players or league personnel.
However, the NBA did not void Leonard’s contract or suspend him. That removed the primary obstacle to the trade proceeding.
“The contract was not voided. He was not suspended. So all systems are a go. Everything is on track for Kawhi Leonard to be traded now to the Toronto Raptors,” Shams Charania said on ESPN 2 on Sept. 2.
Leonard also addressed the investigation, saying he accepted responsibility for lapses in judgment by people in his inner circle while maintaining that he entered his Clippers contract and the related agreements in good faith.
The 35-year-old is coming off one of his strongest regular seasons since returning from his ACL injury. Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games for the Clippers in 2025-26, shooting 50.5% from the field, 38.7% from three-point range and 89.2% from the free-throw line.
He earned All-NBA Second Team honors and finished seventh in MVP voting as the Clippers went 42-40 and finished ninth in the Western Conference.
A return to Toronto would reunite Leonard with the franchise where he spent the 2018-19 season. He averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 60 regular-season games and led the Raptors to their first NBA championship.
