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The Toronto Raptors confirmed last week that their trade with the Los Angeles Clippers centered around Kawhi Leonard won’t be completed before the NBA wraps an investigation that’s captivated the basketball world. The league hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton to probe into a no-work, multi-million dollar endorsement deal the seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP signed with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt environmental company ensnared in a scandal that revolves around the Clippers potentially circumventing the salary cap.
The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov released a report on Tuesday that divulges more information about the ongoing investigation, which has seemingly grown since its inception. In it, Vorkunov reports that, along with looking into whether the Clippers manipulated the cap by striking a deal with Aspiration for Leonard, Wachtell has inspected if Leonard had a previously unreported endorsement deal with another company.
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Plus, the firm has shifted to determine if the Clippers improperly covered expenses for Leonard and weren’t reimbursed for them, according to The Athletic.
If Leonard is punished as a result of the NBA’s investigation, Toronto could back out of its agreed-upon trade, which was first reported on June 30 and is supposed to deliver the 35-year-old Leonard back to the Raptors, with whom he won an NBA championship in 2019. In return, the Clippers have been poised to receive two-time All-Star Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick as well as first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, second-round selections in 2030 and 2033 and a first-round pick swap in 2027, per NBA insider Jake Fischer.
Early last month, at NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s annual news conference leading up to the NBA Finals, he didn’t specify when Wachtell Lipton’s investigation report will arrive on his desk, although he did say it was “close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up.”
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That was on June 3, and yet an investigation entering its 11th month wears on. Silver will ultimately administer the appropriate discipline, if any.
The Athletic’s Tuesday report notes that “some team executives…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-reportedly-probing-another-kawhi-leonard-endorsement-deal-amid-nearly-yearlong-aspiration-investigation-230350353.html
Author : Andy Backstrom
Publish date : 2026-07-14 23:03:00
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