NBA News Round-up, Sep. 14: Joakim Noah and Knicks to part ways; Spurs wanted Embiid or Simmons in proposed Kawhi Trade

#3 Spurs wanted Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons in Possible Kawhi trade

Gregg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard

While Kawhi Leonard eventually got traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for All-Star DeMar DeRozan but before the final trigger was pulled on the deal, it was reported that even the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers were involved in talks with the Spurs to finalize a deal.

And on Friday, some more light was shed on these rumors. ESPN's Senior NBA Writer Zach Lowe had 76ers' shooting guard JJ Redick on his "The Lowe Post" podcast on Thursday. Here's what he said during a conversation about Fultz and the franchise's possible trade for Kawhi:

"There is no evidence that the Spurs wanted [Markelle] Fultz," Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast. "I've been told the Spurs never asked for Fultz, and actively didn't want Fultz, and in fact wanted one of the two big guys."

There's no surprise why this trade didn't fall through. Philadelphia's intention was to build a team around Embiid and Simmons and not to trade either of them.