The Clippers sent Kawhi Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors and landed a haul of players and picks that reshapes the franchise's future.

The trade, completed Tuesday, Sept. 15, brings forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round selections to Los Angeles. Toronto had paused the deal on July 9 while the NBA's salary cap circumvention investigation played out.

The deal became possible after owner Steve Ballmer reversed course on Sunday, Sept. 13, accepting the league's sanctions rather than fighting them. As we reported Monday, Ballmer had been silent for 11 days after the NBA announced its penalties on Sept. 2. In a statement released by the team, Ballmer said the Clippers are complying with the penalties, have paid the $30 million fine and are "moving forward."

Those penalties were severe. The NBA stripped five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, suspended Ballmer from all league and team activities for one year and suspended basketball operations president Lawrence Frank for six months without pay. The league's investigation found Leonard received $66 million in endorsement pay from four companies facilitated by Ballmer and Clippers executives.

Leonard, 35, played in roughly 60% of the Clippers' regular-season games across seven injury-plagued seasons. The franchise never reached the NBA Finals during his tenure and has not advanced past the first round since 2021.

The incoming pieces give coach Tyronn Lue a projected core of Ingram, Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and No. 5 draft pick Keaton Wagler. Ingram was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Lakers. Dick, a former University of Kansas standout from Wichita, enters his fourth NBA season.

But Los Angeles Times columnist Mirjam Swanson argued Monday that the roster overhaul alone won't fix the franchise. She called Frank "a master of the margins" but wrote that the Clippers need a lead executive who can identify greatness "not just on the court, but in the locker room, in the community."

Swanson pointed to the earlier trade that sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George at Leonard's demand. Gilgeous-Alexander became a two-time league MVP and led the Thunder to a championship.

Daniel Durbin, director of the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports Media and Society, said the path forward depends on front-office decisions. "It's really more about how smart they are on the draft picks, how smart they are on building the team," Durbin told the Los Angeles Times.

The Clippers had already traded away their 2027 and 2028 first-round picks before the sanctions, leaving the franchise without a first-round selection for at least six consecutive years. Swanson's column noted the team could have salary cap room by the 2027 or 2028 offseason and could use newly acquired draft assets to pursue trades for players other teams want to move.

The franchise is also subject to a five-year compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office. Frank has not made a public statement about his future with the organization. His six-month suspension runs through approximately early March 2027.