When you have the reputation as a "star hunter," like Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey does, having sources throw out that you may have wanted to be involved with a superstar player at the trade deadline seems about right.
According to Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports, sources told him that Morey was interested in trying to land Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard in a trade:
"Executives have said that the Sixers were actively making calls pre-deadline, though nothing seemed remotely close. Some sources suggest that Morey was star hunting with Kawhi Leonard being a name that was connected to Philly."
These things can be interpreted in so many different ways. It could be that Morey did indeed call about Leonard in a trade that certainly would have included Paul George and other assets from the Sixers. It could be that while doing his due-diligence in making numerous call before the deadline, Leonard's came up but not in a serious nature. Who knows?
Leonard is under contract through next season, while the George contract includes a player option for the 2027-28 season. The Clippers did unload James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline, but held on to Leonard, who is averaging 27.8 points and shooting 49.6 percent from the field. With a 29-31 record, they seem firmly set to be in the play-in tournament of the NBA playoffs.
The Sixers, of course, didn't have a very profitable deadline, as they traded guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a first-round pick (Houston's this season) and three second-round picks. It doesn't help matters that McCain is playing really good basketball for the Thunder, who possess the best record in basketball at 48-15. In his 10 games at OKC, McCain is averaging 11.8 points and has hit 18 of his 42 three-point attempts (42.9 percent).
