The Cleveland Cavaliers won't go unharmed after the NBA finally laid the hammer on Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers. While the Western Conference foe will face steep penalties, Kawhi Leonard will go pretty much unscathed.
The NBA ordered Leonard to pay back $700,000 after discovering the Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay him behind closed doors. However, he won't be suspended, his contract won't be vetoed, and he's eligible to be traded.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, that means his pre-agreed trade to the Toronto Raptors is officially back on the table. Needless to say, having him back in the Eastern Conference spells trouble for Kenny Atkinson's team.
The Cavs will have to deal with Kawhi Leonard again
"The trade as of right now, both sides, the Clippers and the Raptors, they're moving forward as if the trade is going to happen," Charania said on the Pat McAfee Show. "There's sequencing that has to occur, but the trade call is next, lining that up with the NBA. Both sides have already spoken on Wednesday, and they both have the intention of moving forward with this trade."
Leonard isn't in his prime anymore, and there's no telling if he'll ever be healthy enough to suit up against the Cavs, at least in the regular season. That said, he played most of his team's games last season, and he's still an elite two-way force to be reckoned with.
The Raptors will get their former Finals MVP back. Unless they changed the terms of the deal, they'll get him in return for Gradey Dick, Brandon Ingram, two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a pick swap.
However, with the league stripping the Clippers of five first-round selections, this trade may no longer be as enticing as it once was. Regardless, it's pretty clear that he's reached the end of the line in Inglewood after this debacle.
The Raptors are a team on the rise. The Cavs have struggled to contain long-armed, ball-handling jumbo wings, and pairing Leonard with Scottie Barnes can be a headache, especially now that Dean Wade is gone.
The Eastern Conference will be an absolute bloodbath in 2026. The Philadelphia 76ers added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to the mix, Tyrese Haliburton will be back for the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics are always dangerous, the New York Knicks are the defending NBA champions, and now this.
This only puts more pressure on Kenny Atkinson, Koby Altman, and a Cavs core that has fallen short in big moments time and time again. It's also the type of all-in move Cavs fans have urged their front office to do for years.
Still, there's a way the Cavs can also benefit from this fiasco. They already made a big trade with the Clippers last season, so maybe they will want to take some of their veterans off their hands, now that they have no choice but to embrace their post-Kawhi reality.
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