Adam Silver clearly stated that the league played no role in pausing the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors. It’s been more than 10 months into the investigation of the Clippers’ allegedly circumventing the salary cap, and there’s still no official resolution to the 7x All-Star’s future. Could things change?

“The investigation, I think, is over now,” Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic said on The Rich Eisen Show. “The NBA is kind of sifting through what the law firm they hired has found, whether there’s a punishment or not that it wants to levy.”

“I think the trade with the Raptors will still happen,” Vorkunov continued about his gut instinct on Klaw’s future. “Just trying to think through the things that would make them cancel that deal is, if they void the contract, and the Clippers literally cannot trade him anymore.

But, if there’s like a suspension, let’s say that investigation finds, you can kind of like tweak the terms of the trade a little bit to make up for that. Or, if it’s possible, maybe the league just lands that there’s no wrongdoing at all. And then you’re on a glide path to making this deal happen.”

Before talking about Kawhi Leonard’s future, Vorkunov stated that it was a “waiting game”, but felt that the investigation is kind of over now.

Now the league is possibly looking at Manhattan law firm Wachtell Lipton’s findings and working on what the punishment could be, if there is any wrongdoing. But he called the process “a little bit complicated.”

The Clippers, Steve Ballmer, the NBPA, and Kawhi Leonard could potentially reach a settlement if they agree on an appropriate punishment. If they don’t settle, the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) requires a formal arbitration process: both sides present their cases to a neutral arbitrator (similar to a trial).

The arbitrator decides whether any proposed punishment is justified. After that, either side can appeal, which can prolong the process.

The investigation has already taken longer because the NBA was reportedly looking into whether there was a possible undisclosed second contract or agreement involving Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers.

Adam Silver states the league’s position on the Kawhi Leonard trade

“My timeline remains the same,” said Silver during the Summer League press conference. “I most recently said in an interview that I’m hopeful that it will wrap up this summer, so that will continue to be the goal here. And I just want to clarify, so everyone understands, the league did not pause the trade.”

According to reports, the NBA Commissioner asked the Raptors to sign a written acknowledgment accepting the risk of trading for Kawhi Leonard while the investigation remained ongoing. Rather than comply immediately, Toronto chose to pause the trade until there was more clarity on the matter.

That decision shouldn’t be read as an expectation of punishment – it was simply a precaution. Shams Charania has noted that while the worst-case outcome would be the contract being voided, that scenario is not considered likely.