Potential punishment scared multiple Kawhi Leonard trade suitors

The Toronto Raptors nearly welcomed Kawhi Leonard back to Canada with a blockbuster offseason trade.

Then, with Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers still under league investigation for allegedly circumventing the salary cap, the Raptors hit pause on the transaction.

It's been weeks, and while there are mountains upon mountains of evidence directly tying Steve Ballmer, the Clippers, Kawhi and his uncle Dennis Robertson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is still radio silent on the issue. According to ESPN NBA insider Anthony Slater, this situation warded off multiple potential trade suitors.

Multiple suitors backed down on a Kawhi Leonard trade 

“I think started to be sniffing around the league of this idea that maybe there was punishment heading Kawhi’s way, and I think that might have warded off some suitors,” Slater said on "The Hoop Collective."

This checks, considering that the Clippers quickly went from "we're never trading Kawhi" to sending him to the Raptors without even fielding offers for his services.

It's hardly a coincidence that the Raptors' outgoing president, Larry Tanenbaum, also happens to be chairman of the NBA's Board of Governors, so he'll have a lot to do with any potential punishment Leonard and/or Ballmer might face. 

The Raptors agreed to trade Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 for their former Finals MVP, but they weren't the only suitor at first.

The Warriors wanted to trade for Kawhi Leonard

Per Slater, even the Golden State Warriors had some internal talks about trading for Leonard. Then, with even more smoking guns proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the Clippers broke the CBA to pay Leonard under the table, they backed down.

“I’ll say something else and this is a little bit more circumstantial whatever but like the Warriors were really like into the Kawhi Leonard trade idea at the trade deadline look last February. They were less into that idea this summer,” Slater said.

That should let the commissioner know everything there is to know about this situation. Multiple teams seem to agree with the notion that there was some stinky stuff going on behind closed doors. Even though Steve Ballmer is one of the wealthiest and most powerful owners in pro sports, it'll be impossible for Adam Silver to save face if there aren't any serious and real consequences.