Sixers' Leonard Pursuit: Risky or Rewarding?

0:00For the NBA, it's March 5th, and here's what's going on. The Philadelphia Sixers made calls for star players before the February 5th trade deadline, including interesting Kauai Leonard from the Clippers. But no deals got close. They ended up trading Jared McCain instead. While the Clippers moved James Hardin and Ivika Zubak, but held on to Leonard for now. That sets up possible off-season talks, since Leonard's on a $50 million expiring deal next year. Sixers could swap him for Paul George and some picks, seeing it as Capra Leaf around Tyree's Maxi and Rookie Vijay Edgecomb. Fans and analysts worry. This fits a risky pattern of chasing a third max salary star, alongside Joel, Embed and Maxi. Staying under the luxury tax has forced them to gut their bench over two years, making contention tough under the new NBA rules. Leonard brings elite play when healthy, but he's missed at least 14 games every season since 2017. Preparing to injury prone guys in their mid-30s with Embed feels like a gamble, especially

1:02in the playoffs. Instead of doubling down, the Sixers might thrive building depth around their young core Maxi, Embed and Edgecomb on his Rookie deal. Keeping assets like those Clippers picks could set them up better long term. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor, See the episode description. Podcasts hit different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense, S-O-L-I-SoliPillow.com.