Kawhi Leonard could end up reuniting with his former co-star … Paul George.
The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to add the LA Clippers star forward Leonard at the trade deadline, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday. O’Connor notes that 76ers president Daryl Morey was “star hunting” and “actively making calls” but that obviously nothing ever materialized on that front before the deadline.
Leonard, now 34 years old, is currently having a banner year for the Clippers. He is averaging a career-high 27.8 points per game on phenomenal 50/38/90 shooting splits and was just able to earn his seventh career NBA All-Star selection as a result.
But Leonard is facing a very uncertain situation heading into the summer. He is only under contract for one more season in 2026-27 (at $50.3 million), and the Clippers may be eyeing a rebuild after trading away James Harden and Ivica Zubac at last month’s deadline.
As for the 76ers, they are on the fringe of contention at 33-28 and have an aging roster that needs to win as quickly as possible. The connections are there as well with Leonard having co-starred with the 76ers forward George on the Clippers from 2019-24 and also having been coached by 76ers head coach Nick Nurse on the Toronto Raptors when they famously won the NBA title in 2019. On top of that, the 76ers and the Clippers have linked up on multiple trades in recent years, most notably the 2023 blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to Los Angeles.
When it comes to a renewed offseason pursuit of Leonard though, Philadelphia might not have a lot to realistically trade. George and (arguably) Joel Embiid are negative assets right now due to their bloated contracts, and young stars Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are presumably untouchable for the 76ers. Additionally, there is a chance that Leonard could get his contract with the Clippers voided in the coming weeks due to the Aspiration scandal, which would immediately make him a free agent and pit one of these teams as a far likelier destination instead.
