Kawhi's under-the-table contract case expected to conclude within six weeks! Clippers likely to be penalized, trade can go through smoothly

On August 11 Beijing time, per Fischer's latest update, Kawhi Leonard is confident that the major trade already agreed upon in principle by the Clippers and Raptors will officially go through before the Raptors' training camp begins next month.

This trade was first reported in late June, but due to the league's ongoing investigation into allegations that the Clippers attempted to circumvent the salary cap by compensating Leonard through channels outside his contract, Leonard remains a Clippers player in name only. The investigation has lasted 11 months, and the Raptors have chosen to delay the official announcement of the trade, waiting for the investigation to conclude to determine whether the star forward will face any penalties before proceeding.

Fischer added that when the two sides reached a trade consensus, it was agreed that once Leonard returns to the Raptors, he would negotiate a multi-year contract extension with the team. Leonard's salary for next season is $50.3 million, and if he does not sign a new contract before then, he will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Leonard is not the only one affected by the uncertainty of this investigation. Once the trade is officially finalized, the Raptors will send forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, plus two first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-round picks to the Clippers.

The investigation first began last summer. Leonard had signed an endorsement contract with the green finance company Aspiration, which has since gone bankrupt and was also a sponsor of the Clippers. Podcast host and investigative journalist Pablo Torre labeled Leonard's Aspiration endorsement deal a "sham endorsement agreement that required no actual performance," which prompted the NBA to launch an investigation.

The situation escalated again last week: reports emerged that Leonard was also allegedly involved in a secret multi-million dollar endorsement contract with Daktronics, the manufacturer of the "halo screen" scoreboard at the Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome. Torre and Sam Koppelman of Hunterbrook Media, who first broke the story, could not find evidence that Leonard had performed any endorsement work for Daktronics as per the agreement.

Fischer stated that the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which is handling the investigation, was already aware of a series of clues recently exposed by Torre's podcast: the alleged illegal Daktronics endorsement contract, and Leonard's ownership stake in a Rhode Island soccer team (which has indirect ties to Ballmer and the Clippers).

Fischer confirmed that once the league announces its findings, the Clippers will be prepared to apply for arbitration depending on the severity of the penalties. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he expects the investigation to conclude this summer.

Fischer said that many insiders within the league predict that the matter will come to a conclusion within the next six weeks: the NBA will likely impose some form of penalty on the Clippers, while the trade between the Clippers and the Raptors will be completed smoothly.