With news that the Kawhi Leonard trade is on hold, the NBA may have saved the Toronto Raptors for making a massive mistake. According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, the NBA warned the Raptors that by trading for Leonard, they could be inheriting any potential penalties levied by the league.
Leonard is, of course, being investigated along with the LA Clippers for alleged salary cap conventions. The ongoing investigation could lead to a suspension for Leonard, or perhaps seeing his contract voided.
It could also result in the Clippers being fined and possibly having draft picks taken away. For the Raptors' part, they traded for Leonard hoping that he could get them back into championship contention. However, if they traded for him and then he were suspended, the Raptors wouldn't be getting what they paid for.
The NBA just saved the Toronto Raptors from themselves
The NBA taking this unprecedented step gifts the Raptors a lifeline. They have the opportunity to back out of the trade and keep their assets. Or, perhaps more likely, they can claw back some of the assets they gave up in the deal.
Ironically, Toronto now has leverage. They can threaten to pull out of the trade unless the Clippers agree to go through with the deal minus the two first-round picks and pick swaps.
A straight-up deal of Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick for Leonard might be the best the Clippers can do at this point. Otherwise, they could see losing him for nothing.
The Clippers have themselves to blame for the Kawhi fiasco
Frankly, they should lose Leonard for nothing if the NBA has the smoking gun that proves guilt. Los Angeles shouldn't be able to profit from their shady moves by being able to trade Leonard.
The Raptors also shouldn't be forced to pay top dollar to re-acquire Leonard after he was lured away with an alleged under-the-table deal with the Clippers. At least the NBA warned them, and now they can back out of the trade or demand their picks back.
If I were them, I would back out of the deal completely. The NBA wouldn't warn them unless they planned to drop the hammer on Leonard and the Clippers. Fortunately, they did.
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