The NBA has officially approved the trade that sends Kawhi Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors after a months-long delay related to an investigation into salary-cap circumvention involving both teams. The deal, which was finalized on September 2nd following the NBA’s completion of its investigation, sees the Clippers receiving All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, two first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a conditional pick swap in 2027, and two second-round picks. Leonard is set to speak at Toronto’s media day on September 28th.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
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Kawhi Leonard is officially returning to the Toronto Raptors.
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Leonard → return → Raptors
After a months-long delay, the NBA approved a trade between the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers on Monday that sent Leonard back to Toronto where he won an NBA championship in 2019.
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he → approve → 2019
All-star forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks are going to L.A. in return.
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Ingram → go → return
“We’re thrilled to welcome Kawhi back to Toronto,” said Raptors general manager and executive vice-president Bobby Webster.
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Webster → ’re → Toronto
“His impact on our organization, our city, and our country is undeniable, and he embodies the competitiveness and championship mindset that we value.
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we → embody → that
“We believe his leadership, experience and talent will help us as we continue building toward our next championship.”
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we → believe → championship
The deal was paused while the NBA investigated Leonard and the Clippers for salary-cap circumvention.
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NBA → pause → circumvention
The league completed its investigation on Sept. 2, fining Leonard US$700,000 but declined to suspend him or void his contract.
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league → complete → contract
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They were stripped of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 and the team was fined $30 million after an independent investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations.
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investigation → get → misconduct
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker were suspended for one year, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months.
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Frank → suspend → months
Leonard is expected to speak with reporters on Sept. 28 at Toronto’s media day.
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Leonard → expect → day
Although the deal had not been officially submitted to the league while the investigation was underway, Leonard, Ingram and Dick tried to participate with their new teams as much as NBA rules allowed.
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rules → submit → teams
Leonard sat in the front row at Kyle Lowry’s July 7 news conference at Toronto’s OVO Athletic Centre, where Lowry announced he would retire as a member of the Raptors.
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he → sit → Raptors
Ingram attended a Clippers summer league game in Las Vegas on July 10.
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Ingram → attend → July
The 35-year-old Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.4 blocks per game last season for the Clippers in 2025-26.
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Leonard → average → 2025
Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (with San Antonio in 2014 and Toronto in 2019) and is generally considered one of the game’s top defensive players.
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Leonard → consider → players
He joins a Raptors team that had the fifth-best defensive rating in the league last season.
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that → join → league
Ingram averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his one season in Toronto, but was injured 11 minutes into Game 5 of the Raptors’ first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Ingram → average → Cavaliers
He underwent right heel surgery on May 8.
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He → undergo → May
Dick took a step back in his third NBA season, averaging 14 minutes per game in 2025-26, averaging six points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists, all career lows.
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Dick → take → points
“We also want to thank Brandon and Gradey and appreciate their work ethic, character, and basketball excellence they brought to our team every day,” said Webster.
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Webster → want → team
Leonard was the central player in the Raptors’ 2019 championship run, but spent just one season with the club before joining his hometown Clippers as a free agent.
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Leonard → spend → agent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
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