Could a trade that reunites him with Brett Brown be the solution to the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard conundrum?
Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer reported Saturday that the Philadelphia 76ers have expressed interest in a trade for the embattled Spurs star.
Leonard, who appeared in just nine games for San Antonio this season with a mysterious and highly-publicized quad injury, is due to make $20.1 million next season. He also holds a $21.3 million player option for 2019-20. Recent rumblings out of the Spurs camp have certainly cast some doubt on the notion that the two sides will be able to repair their relationship.
As for the Sixers, they are in an interesting position — Brown, who coached Leonard as a Spurs assistant from 2011-13, is their head coach. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid look like the two no-brainer untouchables on their roster, but players like Robert Covington and Dario Saric could make for viable trade chips here, both in terms of skillset and salary.
A dominant two-way wing with MVP upside when healthy would obviously be a godsend for the Sixers as they look to bring The Process closer to fruition following this year’s loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round. Thus, they will definitely be hoping to beat out the other interested parties for Leonard.
