It appears highly unlikely that Kawhi Leonard will suit up and play for the Spurs in the 2018-19 season.
Leonard, after all, elected not to join his teammates in the playoffs as he battled a quadriceps injury — the same one that Tony Parker once played through.
Not only that, the relationship between Leonard and the Spurs brass appears to have soured. He did meet with head coach Gregg Popovich in San Diego a few days ago, but not much seems to have come from it.
Right now, Leonard’s potential trade destinations are beginning to take shape, with both the Lakers and Sixers emerging as favorites. Bill Simmons of The Ringer appears to believe that Philadelphia is the most likely candidate, according to a recent report.
So @sam_amick is reporting that the Spurs will only trade Kawhi to the East. Philly has to be heavy favs – cap space to absorb Kawhi/Patty Mills plus 3 of Fultz/Saric/Covington/ZSmith plus that killer 2021 Miami pick plus Bayless expiring.https://t.co/uAakatyUF1
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 23, 2018
Simmons did reference Sam Amick’s report from earlier in the day, which stated that “the Spurs are determined to either fix the situation or trade Leonard to an Eastern Conference team.” This does make sense, as the Spurs probably don’t want to be responsible for helping to create a potential superteam in the Western Conference.
Not only that, Leonard would be a great fit on the Sixers — paired with a number of young stars that are athletic and get after it on both ends of the floor. Leonard would immediately make the Sixers a contender in the East, as one of the favorites to win the conference.
We still have roughly a week until the free-agent market is set to open, but things are already beginning to take shape, so stay tuned.
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