Amid a blockbuster-filled NBA offseason, the Detroit Pistons quietly attempted an ambitious, star-studded roster overhaul. In fact, instead of its front office, it was led directly by franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham, who was once thought to be recruiting Kawhi Leonard. However, as details of Cunningham’s aggressive recruiting efforts surface, the league’s ongoing cap-circumvention investigation involving the LA Clippers has effectively frozen major transactions.

On NBA Today, Vincent Goodwill detailed how Detroit actively sought star-caliber talent to pair alongside Cunningham following a 60-win campaign that saw the Pistons become the top seed in the East and Cunningham’s own scary lung collapse.

“Banking on internal improvement has been the thought going back from last summer when they didn’t make a big move going into this season,” Goodwill explained. “They wanted to see how Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland would play together. It led to 60 wins. Now you’re thinking Detroit was going to go make a big move this past offseason.

“Cade Cunningham was very involved in the potential recruitment of Austin Reaves. Austin Reaves re-signed with the Lakers. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie—those were all names the Pistons were interested in. No moves materialized, and now they’re going to bank on the restricted free agency of Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson’s extension.”

While the Austin Reaves pursuit stole the spotlight, it’s interesting that after the Pistons’ loss to the Clippers last December, Kawhi was the player connected to Detroit. Then, Cunningham and Leonard were spotted talking to each other, which started the whole speculation. However, Kawhi turned down the Pistons after the Clippers didn’t offer him an extension a month ago.

Even if mutual interest had existed between Detroit and Leonard, any potential transaction faces a major legal barrier: the NBA’s ongoing investigation into whether the LA Clippers improperly compensated Leonard through off-book endorsement deals.

Though the Clippers agreed to trade Leonard to the Toronto Raptors on June 30, the trade remains on hold. As Ramona Shelburne said on NBA Today, the lingering investigation creates a dilemma for Toronto.

“Yes. I mean, it sounds crazy after a trade like this, but this was the Toronto Raptors being given a choice of: are you willing to assume the risks of something happening with Kawhi Leonard after the investigation is completed? And they are not willing to assume those risks,” Shelburne stated. “And so if they’re not, then we get to the end of the summer and there’s not a resolution here, and there’s nobody from the NBA who could say with 100% certainty that there won’t be any fallout for Kawhi Leonard specifically, quickly, then it’s up to the Raptors.”

Shelburne pointed to Miami’s trade for Terry Rozier as a cautionary tale that haunts Toronto’s decision-making.

“We just saw what happened with the Miami Heat and Terry Rozier. The NBA had an investigation… they didn’t find anything, and then a year later, after the Heat had traded for him, they get stuck with a player who’s now out of the league. So, I can see a world in which Kawhi Leonard is back on the Clippers if this trade doesn’t go through.”

The administrative gridlock extends beyond Leonard and Toronto. The Clippers’ hesitation to make roster moves during the investigation has stalled other transactions, including potential sign-and-trade pursuits for restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. Consequently, teams like Detroit must pivot toward retaining internal talent like Duren in the meantime.