The Philadelphia 76ers came close to chasing a very different kind of headline before the trade deadline, and they can probably breathe easier now that they didn’t pull the trigger.
At the time, the Sixers had real interest in a deal for then-Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. Daryl Morey was still running the show up top, and Philadelphia had positioned itself with extra draft capital after moving Jared McCain, all in the name of setting up a blockbuster swing. Leonard, a two-time Finals MVP, was among the names on their radar.
That path never got finished. The Sixers backed off, and the Clippers eventually sent Leonard to Toronto, where he had already won a championship. In hindsight, that decision may have saved Philadelphia from walking straight into a mess it would not have wanted any part of.
The reason is simple: Leonard is now staring at uncertainty that could reach all the way to a voided contract or a full-season suspension, as ESPN’s Shams Charania recently said on the Shump Street Podcast. For a team that has spent years dealing with availability problems, that would have been a brutal outcome to absorb after giving up major assets.
Leonard’s game still makes the temptation easy to understand. Last season, he showed again that he can still rank among the league’s best, helping drag the Clippers into the playoff picture despite their awful 6-21 start. Los Angeles still missed the postseason, but Leonard put himself right back in the MVP-caliber conversation.
Even so, the contract controversy hanging over him and the league’s investigation make this the kind of situation the Sixers were wise to avoid. The Raptors, who have said they are willing to take on the risk, are the ones left dealing with the uncertainty now.
For Philadelphia, the what-if is gone. Instead of tying itself to Leonard’s situation, the Sixers can turn toward next season with a different plan in place, having landed Jaylen Brown rather than Kawhi Leonard for their championship push.
In Other News...
Kevin Durant Just Put A Powerful Label On The New-Look Sixers
Kevin Durant was in Philadelphia for the MLB All-Star event, and he had a pretty clear read on the 76ers new direction after their trade for Jaylen Brown. Durant described the revamped roster as dangerous, a label that carries some weight coming from a player who has spent years sizing up contenders from every angle. He also sounded genuinely upbeat about Brown getting a fresh start in a city that tends to make its feelings known one way or the other.
Durants comments fit the moment around the Sixers, who are trying to turn a major roster swing into something that looks more than just bold on paper. He also took a detour into the broader league conversation when asked about LeBron James free agency, saying he had no idea where James would land while acknowledging the Lakers star will keep producing at a high level. For Philadelphia, though, the more immediate takeaway was Durants belief that this new version of the team has real bite, and that the fan base will be right there to amplify it. [Read more 🡒]
Draymond Green Just Sent Sixers Fans A Message They Needed
Draymond Green took aim at a familiar NBA talking point this week, pushing back on the idea that different off-court lives automatically mean there is real friction between teammates. His point was simple enough for Philadelphia fans to understand: chemistry is not always built on constant contact away from the floor, and players can operate in the same locker room without being close friends.
For a Sixers team that has lived through its own share of relationship drama, the reminder landed in a place that probably felt familiar. Green pointed to the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons era as an example of how off-court differences can become a Philadelphia storyline without fully defining what happens in games, and he also used his long-running bond with Stephen Curry to show that even elite teammates do not need to spend every summer in each others pockets to make it work. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Pulled Into A Joel Embiid Debate They Cannot Ignore
The Joel Embiid conversation has a way of pulling other teams into the frame, and Atlanta is the latest to get dragged into the exercise. Any serious look at a deal involving the 76ers star starts with the same uncomfortable backdrop: the injuries have piled up, the contract is massive, and the question is no longer just what Embiid can still give Philadelphia, but how long the team can keep betting on his body holding up.
For the Hawks, the appeal is obvious enough to make the debate unavoidable. A proposal built around Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher and Corey Kispert would ask Atlanta to part with defense, upside and shooting in one swing, while taking on the kind of star power that can reshape a franchise in an instant. It is the sort of hypothetical that forces both front offices to weigh present value against future flexibility, even if the real answer remains tucked behind the speculation. [Read more 🡒]