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When asked about the still-pending Kawhi Leonard trade between the Clippers and Raptors, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the onus for the delay lies strictly with the teams involved and not with the league.
Silver addressed media from Summer League in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and was asked repeatedly about the ongoing Leonard saga that started with a league investigation in September and has resulted in his trade from Los Angeles to Toronto being put on hold in July.
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Silver put it in no uncertain terms: The delay is on the Clippers and Raptors.
Silver: ‘The league did not pause the trade’
“I mean, the league did not pause the trade,” Silver said. “The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward, given that the investigation remained open and any possible impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known.
“And so they chose not to live with that uncertainty, but that was well known before the trade was proposed. I didn’t think there was any reason for people to believe that the status of Kawhi Leonard would change merely because he was traded. The investigation needs to run its course.”
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The comments were the first from Silver on the subject since the Clippers and Raptors announced jointly on July 9 that the trade was on hold.
The fate of the Aspiration investigation remains in limbo. As does the trade to send Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers to the Raptors.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
What the Clippers, Raptors said
The Clippers, who are under investigation for alleged salary cap circumvention in their dealings with Leonard, again denied any wrongdoing in a statement acknowledging that the trade was on hold:
“We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.”
In their statement, the Raptors confirmed that the trade was on hold and indicated that they might not have been aware that they were assuming any…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/breaking-news/article/adam-silver-says-nba-didnt-pause-kawhi-leonard-trade-that-raptors-clippers-did-confident-probe-will-end-before-new-season-044455115.html
Author : Jason Owens
Publish date : 2026-07-15 04:44:00
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