Kawhi Leonard Investigation Could Wrap Up by Tuesday. Here’s What That Means for the Raptors.

The Kawhi Leonard salary cap saga might finally have an end date. And for the Toronto Raptors, that timeline matters a lot.

According to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, the NBA wants its investigation into Leonard’s alleged under-the-table deal with the Los Angeles Clippers finished before the trade is allowed to go through. The league is worried about what they call “unintended consequences” — including a small chance Leonard’s contract could get voided. So they’re pushing for a resolution by the Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday.

Here’s the short version of what we know: The Clippers and Raptors agreed on a trade that would send Leonard to Toronto. But the league put that deal on pause late Thursday. They told the Raptors that if the Clippers end up getting punished for salary cap circumvention, those penalties would follow the trade to Toronto. Toronto understandably decided to wait.

The whole thing traces back to a report from journalist Pablo Torre nearly a year ago. Torre alleged that the Clippers used a company called Aspiration — which no longer exists — to funnel money to Leonard in a way that helped LA get around the salary cap. Aspiration was supposed to be a financial services firm focused on environmental causes. But according to the claims, it was also a way to pay Leonard under the table.

The scandal went quiet for most of the season. The NBA took its time investigating. A lot of people wondered what would happen if the league dropped its findings while Leonard was already in a Raptors uniform. Now both sides seem willing to wait and see what the NBA decides.

The Raptors want this resolved. So do the Clippers. Leonard himself probably wants it over with too. The investigation has hung over his future for months. And if the NBA finds serious violations, the consequences could go beyond just fines or lost draft picks — there’s that small chance the contract itself gets thrown out.

For now, everyone is stuck waiting. But at least there’s a date on the calendar now. Tuesday’s BOG meeting could bring some clarity. Or it could just be another chapter in one of the stranger offseason stories in recent NBA memory.