L.A. turns the page: Kawhi is traded, LeBron is leaving
It was a stunning day for both of L.A.'s NBA teams. The Clippers shipped Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for a war chest of picks, and LeBron James told the Lakers he’ll finish his career somewhere else.
Good morning! What a day to run a newspaper in this town. Inside 12 hours, the Clippers traded Kawhi Leonard back to the Raptors for a mountain of draft capital, and LeBron James informed the Lakers he intends to keep playing — just not in purple and gold. Two franchises, two clean breaks, one enormous reset. Also: the Aces fell in the Cup final without A’ja Wilson, and Dave Roberts won his 1,000th game. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏀 Kawhi to Toronto. The Clippers send Leonard back to the Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a haul of picks, ending a seven-year run — Grant Mona reports.
🏀 LeBron’s L.A. exit. James tells the Lakers he’ll play elsewhere in 2026-27, ending an eight-year era and handing the keys to Luka Dončić — Carlos Yakimowich has it.
🏀 So close in Brooklyn. Without A’ja Wilson, the Aces push the Liberty to the wire before falling 93-85 in the Commissioner’s Cup final — Arion Armeniakos at Barclays Center.
⚾ Doc’s milestone. Dave Roberts notches career win No. 1,000 as the Dodgers top the Athletics 9-3 in Sacramento — Fredo Cervantes at Sutter Health Park.
⚾ Padres skid. A four-game slump deepens as San Diego is beaten by the long ball at Wrigley Field — James Newell in Chicago.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — TUESDAY, JUNE 30
🏀 WNBA (Commissioner’s Cup final): Liberty 93, Aces 85
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 9, Athletics 3 · Cubs 9, Padres 7 · Mariners 8, Angels 3
🏀 NBA (offseason): Clippers trade Kawhi Leonard to Toronto · LeBron James to leave the Lakers
🏀 TWO ERAS END ON THE SAME DAY
The Clippers finally made the move everyone saw coming, agreeing to send Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors — the franchise where he won a title and Finals MVP in 2019. The return is all about the future: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap and two seconds. That’s a lot of runway for a 35-year-old with one year left, and paired with this year’s pick of Keaton Wagler, it gives the Clippers real flexibility for the first time in years after a middling 42-40 season.
Hours earlier, Rich Paul told ESPN that LeBron James — the man who delivered the Lakers’ 17th banner in 2020 — will continue his career elsewhere. Eight seasons, 479 games, the all-time scoring record, and now a clean handoff to the Luka Dončić–Austin Reaves core (Reaves was re-signed to a four-year, $180 million deal). Jeanie Buss’s statement said it plainly: thank you, LeBron. The next question is simply where he lands.
GO DEEPER
› Grant Mona: The Kawhi Leonard era in Los Angeles comes to an end with a trade to Toronto (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: LeBron James plans to play elsewhere, ending his era with the Lakers (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏀 ACES FALL SHORT — BUT STAND TALL — IN BROOKLYN
Down their four-time MVP, the Aces had every excuse and nearly won anyway. A’ja Wilson sat with an ankle injury, and Las Vegas started ice-cold — 0-for-11 from three, down 14 at the half — before Jackie Young dragged them back with 31 points, including 10 straight in the third. Las Vegas grabbed its first lead in the fourth, 71-69, but Sabrina Ionescu (26) and Cup MVP Breanna Stewart (25 and 11) had the answers, and New York became the first two-time Commissioner’s Cup champion with a 93-85 win.
“I’m proud of the effort,” Becky Hammon said. “We needed one more player to have a big game and we just weren’t able to do it tonight.” The two meet a third time July 30 in Las Vegas.
› Arion Armeniakos: A’ja-less Aces come up short in the Commissioner’s Cup final (The Sporting Tribune)
⚾ ROBERTS GETS TO 1,000
The Dodgers keep humming: a 9-3 win over the Athletics in Sacramento delivered Dave Roberts his 1,000th career victory as a manager, another line on a résumé that already includes multiple titles. There’s a scheduling wrinkle worth noting for the weekend — Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his Wednesday start and pushed to Friday, lining him up to pitch against the Padres to open the next chapter of the rivalry.
› Fredo Cervantes: Dave Roberts reaches 1,000 wins in a Dodgers win over the A’s (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fredo Cervantes: Ohtani scratched from Wednesday, will pitch Friday vs. Padres (The Sporting Tribune)
⚽ THE USMNT’S HOME PATH
With the group stage behind them, the U.S. is leaning on home-crowd energy as it charts a path deeper into the World Cup. TST’s Zach Cavanagh looks at how the hosts — with Folarin Balogun and a healing Christian Pulisic — aim to turn regional support into a historic run as the knockout rounds roll across North America.
› Zach Cavanagh: USMNT looks to ride the home wave and chart a historic path (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — WEDNESDAY, JULY 1
⚾ MLB: Padres at Cubs (series finale) —MLB TV — 11 a.m.
⚽ World Cup: USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina — FOX — 5:00 p.m.
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Athletics (series finale) — SNLA— 6:30 p.m.
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⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Athletics — $150
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Kawhi Leonard was traded back to Toronto, where he won a title in 2019. Which team did the Raptors beat in the 2019 NBA Finals?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode tackles the biggest L.A. news day of the summer — Kawhi’s trade to Toronto and LeBron’s decision to leave the Lakers — plus the Aces’ gutsy Cup-final loss and Dave Roberts’s 1,000th win. Hear it on the radio across Southern California and Las Vegas via Westwood One Sports.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: The Golden State Warriors. Toronto beat Golden State in six games in the 2019 Finals, with Kawhi Leonard named Finals MVP.
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