This offseason is very pivotal for the Philadelphia 76ers as they have a ton of cap space to acquire a superstar player. The Sixers finished the regular season with 52 wins and won a first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, could use LeBron James, Paul George or Kawhi Leonard.
James and George will cost a hefty amount in free agency, while Leonard would have to be acquired in a trade.
Speaking of Leonard, the San Antonio Spurs forward missed most of the season with a debilitating quad injury, putting a strain between him and the front office. That strain led people to speculate that Leonard does not want to be in San Antonio anymore.
Therefore, the Spurs started to receive trade offers for the superstar forward, beginning with the Boston Celtics in February, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Spurs obviously turned down the offer and have resisted trading him.
However, that has not stopped the Sixers and the Los Angeles Lakers from being interested in Leonard reports Wojnarowski. Both teams have the cap space and young pieces to make a trade for him.
Hypothetically, if the Sixers wanted to get it a deal done before or on draft night, they would have to give up a combination of the 10th overall pick, Robert Covington, and maybe Markelle Fultz.
Parting with Fultz plus the tenth pick could be hard for the Sixers to do because they would be giving away an unknown portion of their young talent to the Spurs.
Even though Fultz only played in 14 games this season, it is still too early to give up on him.
In addition to that, the Sixers would have to be sure Leonard would sign a long-term extension with them.
Potentially adding Leonard to a Sixers team with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric is a scary thought for the rest of the Eastern Conference. But him going to Los Angeles and possibly pairing up with James or George would make the Lakers a contender instantly in the Western Conference.
As we get closer to the NBA draft and then to free agency, it will be interesting to see if the Leonard rumors quiet down or only heat back up.
