Raptors' refusal to grant endless Kawhi wishes saved them from doom

"The Toronto Raptors genuinely believed they had a good chance of convincing Kawhi Leonard to re-sign with the team when he entered free agency in 2019. Their dreams were crushed when he opted to sign with the Clippers instead, but as the past week has proven, Kawhi's decision to go to LA kept Toronto away from a nightmare situation. You'd think that an NBA team would know better than to circumvent cap space for any player, but allegedly, the Clippers didn't."

"The Boston Sports Journal reported that Kawhi also had a second deal with Aspiration worth approximately $20 million, which would be paid in company stock. Guess what? That isn't it, either. On Tuesday, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star dropped another bombshell report (subscription required), writing that "multiple sources with knowledge of Toronto's contract negotiations with Leonard in 2019 told the Star that Leonard's uncle and representative, Dennis Robertson, made demands that line up almost perfectly with what Leonard reportedly got from Aspiration.""

"Arthur reported that Kawhi's camp asked for a trade for Paul George, ownership in the Maple Leafs, ownership in outside companies, and a minimum of $10 million in additional sponsorship income. The Raptors said there was corporate sponsors that would like to work with Kawhi, but the catch was that he didn't want to actually do anything. He wanted a "no-show job.""

The Raptors believed they could re-sign Kawhi Leonard in 2019 but he signed with the Clippers. Subsequent revelations show Kawhi secured a $28 million Aspiration endorsement described as a "no-show job" and an additional roughly $20 million stock deal with the same company. Kawhi's camp allegedly requested a trade for Paul George, ownership stakes in the Maple Leafs and outside companies, and at least $10 million in sponsorship income, aligned with the Aspiration arrangements. The Raptors were deterred by demands for passive sponsorships. The NBA has launched an investigation into the Clippers' role, raising the prospect of penalties based on past under-the-table precedent.

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