What comes next in Philly after firing Daryl Morey?

The Philadelphia 76ers finally slayed the dragon that is the Boston Celtics and beat Boston in a playoff series for the first time since 1982. Then, the New York Knicks took the floor in Round 2 and swept the 76ers, bringing Philly and their fans back to reality. That led to the 76ers firing Daryl Morey after 6 seasons as President of Basketball Operations. Philadelphia has a lot of questions entering the offseason, how different will this roster look? 

I think the Sixers will look to shop both Joel Embiid and Paul George. Both guys are on max contracts and though I don’t expect either to be moved, I still think we should look at some possible deals. Let’s start with Embiid, who is entering the first year of a 3yr/$193 million extension he signed in September of 2024. Embiid is still a really good player but at that price, with the amount of injuries he has had, there will not be a very good market, if any at all. The Sixers own the Clippers 2028 first round pick and a 2029 pick swap via the Clippers thanks to the James Harden trade in October of 2023. They could attach one of those assets to get off of Embiid but I don’t think they want to do that. The question is how desperate are the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings? A deal of Nic Claxton and Terrence Mann for Embiid works. It gets Brooklyn off of the 2yrs/$31 million left due to Mann and upgrades their center room if (and that if is a big one) Embiid is available. I don’t think the Nets should do this. I understand they need a star badly but are they really so desperate, that they need to take on the $193 million due to Embiid? It would eat practically all of their future cap space for a guy who is never on the court. The Kings are another team who seems desperate enough to take on Embiid but their cap situation likely wouldn’t allow for them to do it. Paul George is also a player I’m sure the Sixers would like to move.

You could send George, those two Clippers picks and maybe something else back to the Clippers and get Kawhi Leonard. There are reasons why this deal wouldn’t work for either side, number 1, there is a scandal around Leonard that has yet to be resolved so I could see a team not wanting to get involved with that. Assuming that isn’t a big issue, however, Philly would need assurance that Leonard would sign an extension to be a Sixer long term and I am not sure he would be jumping at the chance to do that. I don’t think I would be willing to add too much more to the pot if I was the 76ers but I do think Leonard would make them a much better team next season and he has familiarity with Nick Nurse. Brooklyn is also a possible George team. You could do the same package and give it to the Nets for Michael Porter Jr. MPJ is a worse player than Leonard is but he is less expensive, younger, more likely to sign a new deal and still a very good player. If I was the 76ers, I’d call the Nets to see if they want either Embiid or George.

The rest of the Sixers roster has lots of holes to it, they could really only play 6 or 7 players in the playoffs and 2 of those guys (Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quinten Grimes) are both headed to unrestricted free agency. You could take that Paul George package and offer it to the Grizzlies to add guys. Paul George, the Clippers 2028 first round pick unprotected and a 2033 top 4 protected first round pick for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Santi Aldama and Ty Jerome. KCP hasn’t played well the past few seasons but this would give the Sixers more guys they can play in a playoff series than they have now while giving them more flexibility. The Bulls have a lot of cap space this summer, maybe they could use some of that to take George and some picks, giving Philly Issac Okoro, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith in the process. The Sixers need to get deeper around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

I think Maxey and Edgecombe are a good starting point for the 76ers to build around. I am unsure if it is a championship duo but those are two really good players that Philly should be building their team around for the next decade. The 76ers need to be deeper, Morey’s ‘stars and scrubs’ philosophy doesn’t work in the modern NBA. Adding more playable players should be priority one for the 76ers this summer.