When the Toronto Raptors agreed a deal in principle to sign back the man who once helped them secure an NBA Championship, they probably didn't expect so much drama. However, drama is certainly what they've got.
Kawhi Leonard is due to sign with Toronto as per the deal agreed back in June, but an ongoing NBA investigation over salary-cap circumvention has complicated matters. Now, as investigation proceedings continue to drag on, the Los Angeles Clippers have claimed that they would be "fine" keeping Leonard if the deal falls through, as per ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne.
Shelburne made the comments on the ESPN LA YouTube channel. She said that if the Raptors decide they don't want to go through with the deal, the Clippers have no problem with Leonard being back on the team.
“my sense right now is that Kawhi would just go right back on the Clippers”
She also proposed some alternative eventualities, including an amendment to the deal. For instance, she suggested the Raptors may decide they want to remove the draft inclusions, such as the two unprotected first-round picks for LA in 2031 and 2033. "They have to negotiate that, but my sense right now is that Kawhi would just go right back on the Clippers and they'd be fine with it," Shelburne explained.
The odds have not shifted much despite Shelburne's comments. Kalshi (the best price on this market) has the odds of Leonard making it to the Raptors at 85%. Odds of him remaining a Clipper are just 11%, and have been within two percentage points of that since last week.
The price for Clippers as his next team has dropped around 10% from mid-August. At this time, the ESPN reported that the NBA had found "no evidence" to suggest Clippers owner Steve Ballmer "funneled money to Leonard via sponsors." While the NBA was quick to dismiss the ESPN report as inaccurate, the odds for Leonard staying put declined significantly after that point and remained low.
The investigation is tied to a $28m endorsement agreement signed between Leonard and "green banking" firm Aspiration in 2022. Pablo Torre, a sports journalist, also revealed a separate hidden deal between Leonard and Daktronics, a scoreboard company. The NBA is investigating whether the deals allowed Leonard to get around the salary cap.