For sure- also there is still that trade exception from the John Collins trade
Here's an update on the investigation btw- hopefully that timeline stays true:
The stunning development came Thursday, when both teams announced the league had
halted the deal until the law firm leading the investigation since last September
" Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz " completes its
work and issues its findings. Yet as an NBA spokesperson said after the teams
released their statements, it remains unclear when that might be.
“We don’t have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the
investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks,”
said the league official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the
NBA’s probe is ongoing.
The NBA informed the Raptors before they agreed to the trade that the investigation
could cause issues with any deal involving Leonard, according to sources briefed
on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league’s
probe is ongoing. Yet when the terms of the deal between the Clippers and Raptors
were widely reported on June 30, it forced the league " and
commissioner Adam Silver " to decide how to handle this
unprecedented situation.
The league ignored the public pressure that came from the trade being publicized,
those sources say, and maintained its stance that trading for Leonard before the
investigation was completed meant the Raptors were, as the team said in a statement
Thursday, “assuming the risk of any potential outcome” of the
investigation.
Yet while the league’s handling of the situation isn’t seen as a sign
that significant discipline is coming for the Clippers and/or Leonard, the
potential for Leonard’s contract to be voided is the primary obstacle in
this deal going down. That alone speaks volumes about the continued seriousness of
the....