Thanks to a lingering injury and mounting tension between Kawhi Leonard on the San Antonio Spurs, the Sixers have quickly entered the conversation as a landing spot for the NBA’s quietest superstar.
In fact, the Sixers are second on the list of teams with the best odds to have Leonard suit up for them in the first game of next season. Their odds are 9/2, according to Bovada, behind just the Spurs (the team he’s already on) at 5/8.
Leonard, 26, has played in just nine games this season because of a quad injury, but tensions have reportedly grown between him and his team, in part because of perceived mismanagement of his rehab and growing distrust between the two sides.
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A recent (and lengthy) ESPN story chronicled the saga and dropped this tidbit that linked the Sixers and Leonard.
“Multiple league sources also told ESPN that the Spurs have grown worried that Leonard's group has an ulterior motive to fray the relationship and get Leonard traded to a larger market such as Los Angeles (Leonard's hometown) or New York or Philadelphia (Leonard’s uncle Dennis Robertson lives in New Jersey).”
Unlike possibly landing LeBron James in free agency after this season, the Sixers would need to trade for Leonard. But apparently, Vegas thinks the odds of that aren’t bad.
Here are the full landing spot odds from Bovada:
Spurs: 5/8
76ers: 9/2
Lakers: 13/2
Clippers: 7/1
Celtics: 11/1
Cavaliers: 12/1
Knicks: 14/1
Hornets: 15/1
Bucks: 15/1