3. Kawhi Leonard, SF
Kawhi Leonard wants out from San Antonio, according to multiple reports, and the Sixers figure to join the bidding if/when the Spurs officially put him on the market.
On Friday, Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News, ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes and Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania all shared word of Leonard’s desire for a trade due to frustration over the handling of his right quadriceps injury. Haynes reported that Leonard has “Los Angeles — preferably the Lakers — at the center of his preferences for a trade destination,” although he noted the Boston Celtics would also “be interested in probing the Spurs about a deal.”
Beyond the Lakers and Celtics, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor named the Sixers and the Los Angeles Clippers as the other teams most likely to pursue Leonard on the trade market. How much the Spurs could extract out of any of those teams depends largely upon whether Leonard expressed willingness to re-sign once he can become a free agent in 2019.
As O’Connor noted, Leonard has been consulting with Sixers chief medical officer Jonathan Glashow as he recovers from his quad injury, which could give the team an advantage “if comfortability with the medical staff is a priority for Leonard.” Sixers head coach Brett Brown also spent two years in San Antonio with Leonard before heading to Philadelphia in 2013, so there’s some familiarity between the two of them as well.
The Sixers could dangle some combination of Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless (for salary-matching purposes) and/or one of their six draft picks (including No. 10 overall) in trade negotiations for Leonard, which would blow any Lakers offer out of the water. They shouldn’t sell the farm for him if he adamantly insists he’s L.A.-bound in 2019, but trading for him may otherwise be worth the risk.
Add a healthy Leonard to a core of Simmons and Embiid — not to mention perhaps enough salary-cap space to sign another marquee free agent — and the Sixers could become co-favorites in the East alongside the Celtics.
Next: 2. Paul George