5 Things: Leonard deal’s potential impact

The NBA’s investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers has ended with the harshest punishment in league history, while removing the last obstacle to a long-delayed trade between Los Angeles and Toronto.

The Clippers will lose five first-round picks and pay a US$30 million fine for multiple violations. Leonard received a $700,000 fine. Owner Steve Ballmer and team president of business operations Gillian Zucker each received one-year suspensions, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month ban.

Los Angeles will forfeit a first-round pick in five consecutive NBA drafts beginning in 2029. The penalty means the Clippers will not make their next homegrown first-round selection until 2032. The loss comes after the team’s 2019 effort to sign Leonard and acquire Paul George. To complete that deal, the Clippers sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and the rights to swap two more picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander has since become a two-time NBA MVP and a key player on Oklahoma City’s 2025 championship team.

Toronto had paused the proposed trade on July 9 while the NBA investigation continued. Leonard, who played for the Raptors during the 2018-19 season, nevertheless spent part of the summer in Toronto, attending National Bank Open matches and sitting in the front row at Kyle Lowry’s retirement news conference.

Once the league approves the trade, Leonard will join a Raptors lineup featuring Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, Immanuel Quickley, Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter. Toronto ranked fifth in the NBA in both adjusted and unadjusted defensive ratings last season, and Leonard’s arrival could strengthen that unit further.