Adam Silver Sets Deadline on Kawhi Leonard Investigation - Trade Still in Limbo
The Toronto Raptors pulled off one of the most shocking moves of the offseason on June 30, trading for Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, the same man who won Toronto its first NBA title back in 2019.
In exchange, the Clippers got Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks.
However, last week, it was announced that the trade is on hold until the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt “green banking” company, has concluded.
Since September 2025, the NBA has had law firm Wachtell Lipton investigating whether the Clippers helped Leonard skirt the salary cap through the endorsement deal with Aspiration, a company that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had also personally invested $60 million into.
The concern essentially is whether this was a real endorsement deal or a way to disguise paying Leonard under the table.
Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov reported that the investigation isn’t just about Aspiration anymore. Investigators are also looking into whether the Clippers covered expenses for Leonard without being reimbursed, and whether he had a separate, previously unreported endorsement deal with another company entirely.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said before the NBA Finals that he hoped the investigation would end soon. But it’s now been over a month since the Finals ended and almost 11 months since the investigation started.
Speaking after the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday, Silver said he remains “hopeful” that the Leonard investigation wraps up “this summer,” adding it “needs to be wrapped up before the beginning of next season.”
Silver also acknowledged that the process has dragged on “longer than I would have hoped.”
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Silver said the league’s general counsel gets weekly updates from Wachtell Lipton, the law firm leading the probe, but that he personally hasn’t seen any conclusions yet since the “report is not done.”
He chalked up the delays to legal complications, including bankruptcy court proceedings and uncooperative witnesses.
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As for the stalled Raptors trade, Silver pushed back on the idea that the NBA is to blame. “The league did not pause the trade. The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward given the investigation remained open.”
He said any risk tied to Leonard’s contract was “well known before the trade was proposed,” and that means teams interested in acquiring Leonard had already asked the league office questions and gotten quick answers. So nothing should’ve come as a surprise.
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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 11:24 PM.