NBA has potential mess on its hands as Kawhi Leonard trade put on hold

Kawhi Leonard, Aspiration saga becoming a bigger headache for NBA

The complicated, messy situation is growing thornier for the league, which looks more foolish amid the trade delay. While the NBA can't rush the independent investigation, it owes its franchises full transparency, which clearly hasn't been the case.

As Charania shared, the Leonard trade — first agreed to in principle on June 30 — was only put on hold once the Clippers and Raptors were set to finalize the transaction.

Per Charania:

"Earlier this week, the Raptors and Clippers were set to have a trade call to finalize the deal ... but the league, I'm told, ended up delaying that call and now has decided that the teams will not be moving forward unless the Raptors assume the risk of potential outcomes that come from that investigation."

The two teams released statements following the development, with the Clippers reasserting their innocence, saying, "We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration."

They continued, "Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg."

The Raptors shared that they "remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto," where he won the 2019 NBA championship, but "will wait until the investigation is complete."

Until then, the two teams are in a holding pattern while New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz completes its investigation. If no wrongdoing from the Clippers is uncovered, the deal can be finalized. No harm, no foul. But if evidence of cap circumvention is uncovered, the ramifications could be massive.

In that instance, Leonard's contract could be voided, blowing up the already agreed-upon trade. That would be the worst-case scenario for all parties, but particularly Toronto. While it's fair to scrutinize trading for a player under investigation, the league should have made it clear to all organizations at the start of the offseason that any team considering a Leonard trade would also be impacted by the investigation.

If that had been known, perhaps the Raptors would have pivoted to another available All-Star or offered less for Leonard.

The projected trade also had a major impact on betting markets, with BetMGM noting on Wednesday that prior to news of the deal, Toronto was +12500 to win the 2027 title and +3000 to reach the finals. Afterward, the Raptors' odds shrunk to +2200 (NBA championship) and +800 (Eastern Conference champion).

"At one point, 45 percent of bets to win the Eastern Conference were on the Raptors," BetMGM continued.

The Leonard saga isn't just potentially bad for the Clippers or Raptors. While undoubtedly a complex situation, the NBA hasn't made things any easier.