Kawhi Leonard Bluntly Shuts Down NBA Media Over Clippers Questions

Since September 2025, the NBA has been investigating Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers over cap circumventing that the team committed. The investigation finally came to a close on Sept. 2 when the league found Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and a couple of other executives guilty of circumventing the salary cap to pay Leonard through an illegal endorsement deal.

Since then, Leonard has been freed from the shackles of the LA issue and was traded to the Toronto Raptors. It's been seven years since we've seen Kawhi in a Raptors uniform. However, on Monday, while many were excited to see him up North again, others were more curious about what had happened with the Clippers. Leonard immediately addressed the situation during NBA Media Day.

"I know why some of you guys came; you want to hear about the investigation," Leonard said in his opening statement. "Talking with the NBA and NBPA, I think the best decision is to move forward and focus on my time being a Toronto Raptor."

"I was distracted for the past 70 days and wasn't able to meet my teammates or do any of that mini-camp stuff with them," Leonard added. "So, moving forward, I just want to talk about the Toronto Raptors... I just want to focus on basketball."

Circling back to what sports insider Ryan Russillo said earlier this September, Leonard is good at avoiding conflict. Russillo noted that Kawhi tends to avoid discussing his ongoing issues, which is why his problems outside his on-court performances have often been overlooked.

Kawhi Leonard Breaks Silence About Leaving Raptors in 2019

Back in the 2018-19 season, Kawhi Leonard played for the Toronto Raptors. His one and only season with the team proved very productive, as Leonard led the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019. After that, he immediately went to the LA Clippers, where he spent the next seven years.

During the NBA Media Day press conference, a reporter asked whether Leonard ever regretted his decision to leave Toronto, especially after finding immediate success with the team.

"I don't go back and think about it too much," Leonard said. "The next year was COVID. I kind of made my decision to go to LA based on my family. I'm a big family guy. Had a lot of older people in my family that I had the time to spend with before they passed away... It doesn't make me think of the basketball aspect of it too much."

Kawhi then explained why he decided to return to the Raptors and now wants to retire with the team.

"Every year is a learning lesson," Leonard said. "(The LA Clippers) weren't too competitive last year. I learned that I need pressure. I need a winning situation. I want to win. I want to try and win... I like to be in a winning environment. I feel like (the Toronto Raptors) give me that here."

For now, everything remains to be seen. Many are excited to see how much older Leonard could help reshape the young Raptors core this coming season.