Kawhi Leonard is officially returning to the Toronto 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. 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. “We’re thrilled to welcome Kawhi back to Toronto,” said Raptors general manager and executive vice-president Bobby Webster. ”His impact on our organization, our city, and our country is undeniable, and he embodies the competitiveness and championship mindset that we value. “We believe his leadership, experience and talent will help us as we continue building toward our next championship.” The deal was paused while the NBA investigated Leonard and the Clippers for salary-cap circumvention. The league completed its investigation on Sept. 2, fining Leonard US$700,000 but declined to suspend him or void his contract. The NBA was much harder on the Clippers. 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. 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. Leonard is expected to speak with reporters on Sept. 28 at Toronto’s media 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. 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. Ingram attended a Clippers summer league game in Las Vegas on July 10. 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. 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. He joins a Raptors team that had the fifth-best defensive rating in the league last season. 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. He underwent right heel surgery on May 8. 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. “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. 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. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.
