Camp Opens. Leonard's Status Doesn't.

Toronto's training camp is underway and the Leonard trade is exactly where it was a week ago: unresolved. The NBA's investigation into whether the Clippers used endorsement deals to circumvent the salary cap has not produced a public update, and Commissioner Silver's assurance that it would wrap before the regular season offers cold comfort when camp is already live.

What that means practically is that the Raptors are running drills around an absence. Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett are presumably on the floor together, building habits and learning Rajakovic's extended system — but the player the entire offense is supposed to run through isn't officially a Raptor yet. That's an odd way to begin what's supposed to be a reset year.

The roster additions of recent weeks — Trey Jemison, Andre Jackson Jr., Malachi Smith on his training camp deal — fill out the headcount without changing the underlying math. Jakob Poeltl is still the only established center. The picks that could have addressed depth down the road are gone to Los Angeles. The franchise traded its future flexibility for a star it cannot yet count on having.

Silver said resolution would come before opening night. That's still the working assumption. But the Raptors are now burning camp days on a bet that hasn't officially paid off.