Kawhi Leonard is departing Los Angeles, as the Clippers have agreed to trade the star forward back to the Toronto Raptors. The blockbuster deal, reported by Shams Charania, sends Leonard to the franchise where he led them to their first NBA championship in 2019.
In exchange for Leonard, the Clippers are receiving Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap, and two second-round selections. This move marks the end of a significant chapter in the NBA, concluding one of the most talked-about player tenures of the 2020s.
Leonard's initial departure from Toronto in the summer of 2019 saw him return to his Southern California roots, signing with the Clippers. This move, coupled with the Clippers' acquisition of Paul George weeks prior, set expectations high for the franchise, positioning them as immediate contenders.
However, injuries to both Leonard and George throughout their tenure in Los Angeles prevented the Clippers from reaching their full potential, with the team never advancing to the NBA Finals. Their deepest playoff run came in 2021, where they were eliminated in the Western Conference finals by the Phoenix Suns.
The Clippers have experienced a series of first-round playoff exits from 2023 to 2025, and a play-in tournament loss to the Golden State Warriors this past season. These results appear to signal a strategic shift for the front office, despite earlier assurances about the team's direction.
"Our plan is to win with Kawhi," Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank had stated after the loss to the Warriors. "We obviously showed as an organization that we want to continue and we are driven to win. So at the appropriate time, we’ll sit down with Kawhi, and very similar to 2024, lay out our plan. And if our goals are aligned, then we’d like to win with Kawhi."
Leonard concluded his most recent season with the Clippers by averaging a career-high 27.9 points over 65 games, his second-highest game total since the 2016-2017 season. He averaged 32.1 minutes per game, shooting 50% from the field, 39% from three-point range, and 89% from the free-throw line, while also contributing 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He earned second-team All-NBA honors, reaffirming his status as a dominant two-way player and one of the league's most clutch performers.
Meanwhile, reports from the previous year indicate that Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clippers, faced accusations of circumventing NBA salary cap rules. The allegations involved the use of Aspiration, a defunct green banking company, to pay Leonard $28 million for a position that allegedly required no work. An investigation into these claims, led by David Anders and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, began shortly after the accusations became public in September 2025. Ballmer and the Clippers initially denied the allegations, asserting their innocence, but the investigation remains ongoing.