Kawhi Leonard Trade Is Still Not Official: Could There Be Changes to the Deal?

Now that the dust has settled on the harsh punishment the league has dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers, many expected that the Kawhi Leonard trade would be made official relatively quickly. Even though the terms of the deal were agreed upon two months ago, it has not been finalized. As things stand now, Leonard remains a Clipper.

What does this mean? Could there be changes to the trade between the Raptors and the Clippers? Could one team back out? Is there a chance Leonard heads elsewhere?

Reasons Why the Trade May Be Held Up

The Clippers may be contemplating their options after the hefty punishment. They could be looking for ways to recoup more draft picks. There may be negotiations between the teams to see whether the Clippers can get back more than just the two first-round picks.

This could require the inclusion of Jakob Poeltl in the trade, or the Clippers sending a valuable veteran like Derrick Jones Jr. or Kris Dunn for more draft capital.

Alternatively, the Raptors may be renegotiating. They could be trying to take advantage of the Clippers' desperation and lower LA's asking price for Leonard. This would be risky, as the Clippers could renege on that deal and send Kawhi somewhere else.

They could also be hesitant to finalize the trade because the league investigation is still ongoing, and there may be more punishments. Perhaps the Raptors want to wait until Leonard is fully in the clear before acquiring and extending him.

The fact that GM Lawrence Frank was suspended could be causing delays in these negotiations. It's currently unclear what the power structure in the Clippers' front office is.

What's Next?

It's certainly noteworthy that a deal that was agreed upon so long ago has yet to be finalized. Clippers and Raptors fans are right to have their eyebrows raised. But what can we realistically expect?

At this point, nothing can be ruled out on the Clippers' side. Steve Ballmer is reportedly very angry with the NBA after the punishment. He would presumably not care too much about optics or damage to the organization's reputation for reneging on a trade. He could certainly force the Clippers to back out of the deal and try to get a different one where they restock their draft pick coffers.

Whether that would be with the Raptors or elsewhere is unclear.

On Toronto's side, backing out of the deal seems less likely. They built their entire offseason plan on acquiring Leonard, and that's the only way they are going to be a contender in the immediate future. The question should be more about whether they would play ball if the Clippers demand more in the trade.

This could be much ado about nothing. The trade may be finalized this week without any trouble. But it's important not to rule anything out, especially given where the Clippers are as a franchise right now. Each passing day without an official trade announcement will only increase the odds that the scenarios outlined above will take place.

Add us as a preferred source on Google