NBA insider makes prediction about the Kawhi Leonard trade

Even though the NBA has concluded its investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, the long-agreed Kawhi Leonard trade has yet to officially be consummated. That has led to speculation that either the Clippers or Toronto Raptors might seek to make changes to the deal.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in the latest episode of “Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective” that he has been cautioned against implying too strongly that the Leonard trade is a certainty to go through. However, he also predicted that the deal would go through without changes.

“Well, this is Monday night. We’ll see what happens on Tuesday. In talking to people, I think that trade is going to go through and I think it’s going to go through as is,” Windhorst said, via RealGM. “I was scolded for implying. Or maybe not implying, or wondering whether the terms could get altered.

“People say in the NBA your word is important. They have agreed on this trade and I think they’re going to go through with it as constructed.”

The Clippers had agreed to trade Leonard to Toronto at the end of June. The deal was not made official, however, because the Raptors did not want to be on the hook for any punishments that came out of an investigation into the Clippers’ circumvention of salary cap rules to pay Leonard extra money.

The NBA announced their findings in that investigation last week, but the Leonard trade still has not been completed. The Raptors have kept quiet about the status of the deal during that time.