.The Kawhi Leonard trade is finally moving forward after nearly three months of uncertainty.
The Clippers and Raptors have agreed to complete the trade sending Leonard back to Toronto, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
The teams will now schedule the official trade call to finish a blockbuster that spent nearly three months trapped in scandal-induced limbo.
Toronto will receive Leonard, while Los Angeles acquires Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round swap and two second-round selections.
The framework was agreed upon June 30, but Toronto paused the transaction after the NBA warned that the Raptors would assume the risk of any punishment affecting Leonard. Toronto waited to learn whether the league might suspend him or void his contract during its salary-cap investigation.
Neither happened.
Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000, while the NBA fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped away five first-round picks and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. Losing that draft capital only increases the importance of the selections arriving from Toronto.
Reports still conflicted Monday. Leonard’s camp expected the trade to close within days, while another report indicated the Clippers were not ready to resume major business during their leadership upheaval.
That uncertainty disappeared with Charania’s “done deal” declaration.
Ballmer’s decision to accept the NBA’s punishment removed another complication. Leonard can now return to the franchise he carried to the 2019 championship, while the Clippers begin rebuilding from a scandal that made completing an agreed-upon trade unusually complicated.
