This certainly would be one way to complete “The Process.”
The Philadelphia 76ers are on the rise, looking like a team that’s nearly ready to contend for an NBA title.
Adding the best player in the world would help. So, too, would adding another top-five player. That might seem crazy, but The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor laid out a way in which the Sixers could acquire both LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard this summer.
Getting James to Philly is (relatively) easy. He’s expected to opt out of his contract in the offseason, and a youth-laden team on the rise like the Sixers should be very enticing to the superstar.
Landing Leonard would be a little more difficult, as Philly would have to acquire him via trade from the San Antonio Spurs. According to O’Connor, the Spurs seek a “grand slam” package in a potential trade for Leonard.
But …
“If I were the Sixers, I’d push hard for Kawhi Leonard, who’s spent time rehabbing in New York under the care of Dr. Jonathan Glashow, the 76ers’ chief medical officer,” O’Connor writes. “If the Sixers went all in with a monster trade package headlined by Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Robert Covington, the No. 10 pick, draft-and-stashes, and Jerryd Bayless’ salary, they could theoretically have a Big Three with Embiid, Simmons, and Leonard, and still retain max cap space to sign James if J.J. Redick agreed to a deal worth less than $10 million annually.
“If Philly can get assurances of both Leonard’s health — Glashow must know — and James’ interest in joining the team, then that admittedly rich trade package is reasonable.”
That’s a scary thought for the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and really any team not named the Philadelphia 76ers.
Oh, and don’t count out the Los Angeles Lakers, either. O’Connor writes that L.A. could offer a similar trade package for Leonard, or just sign James and Paul George to fast-forward on their own rebuild.
