Daryl Morey Says Sixers Are Coming to Take Title From Celtics
Tuesday was a busy day for the Sixers. They held press conferences for both Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Our Mid-Day Show was there, and got to talk to Tyrese…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 15: President of basketball operations Daryl Morey participates in a press conference before a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center on December 15, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Tuesday was a busy day for the Sixers. They held press conferences for both Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Our Mid-Day Show was there, and got to talk to Tyrese Maxey, Nick Nurse, and Daryl Morey. Something Morey told us is still rattling around in my brain.
Daryl Morey Showing Bravado
"I am a big objective data guy. We are right there in the conversation with a very small number of teams. Top 2, top 3, top 4. You have to give the Celtics their credit, they won the title. They are an excellent team and brought everyone back. They are the target. But we don't feel like we give up anything to them, and we are going to be coming to take the title away from them."
I love that. It is confident, but while also showing respect to the Celtics. He acknowledges they are a great team, and the team to beat. But he also shows that the team is not afraid of them. They feel like they are right there in that conversation. The question is, should they be?
Are the Sixers Ready To Compete With The Celtics
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)The Sixers added Paul George this summer. But they did more than just that. They also added Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Reggie Jackson. On top of bringing back Kelly Oubre Jr and Kyle Lowry. All joining the pre-exisiting Super Stars of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
That, on paper, is a great roster. Is is perfect? No. I would like them to add a true Power Forward at some point. Names like Marcus Morris and Dorian Finney-Smith have been thrown around, but they have not made a move yet. Eventually I would like them to do something in that regard though. They need a bit more size.
But other than that, I really like the makeup of the roster. The bench is maybe a bit long in the tooth with guys like Lowry, Jackson, and Gordon, but it is not like they are counting on those guys for big minutes. They are bench pieces, and guys who can bring veteran leadership.
In terms of what they will do next, Daryl Morey obviously didnt tell us his plan, but he did seem confident that the Sixers are not done. They have 2 more open roster spots, and Morey said he plans to eventually use them.
"We will have a open roster spot to start the year to keep ourselves flexible. We have thedraft capital that is better than all the top contenders in the league minus OKC. We are set up to continue to improve the team... Having both the draft capital, the ability to spend money, and the open roster spots to continue to improce the tewam is something we will be focused on."
There are going to be more moves. It is just a matter of when. The Sixers have a tradeable contract in KJ Martin. That will let them fit in another semi expensive player into their cap. Then they will have that open roster spot, maybe to use in the buyout period to add another vet on the minimum.
They have to do it on the court. But this is a team that looks ready to compete. Their top 3 players will be better than almost any other teams 3 best players. But as we have seen in the past, championships aren't won on paper. Daryl Morey is talking the talk, we will see if the team he put togehter can walk the walk. I like the bravado though.
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NBA free agency has begun. Well, legal tampering has begun. The most confusing phrase in sports. Teams can begin to "legally tamper" with other team's free agents. Sixers free agency will be as busy as we have ever seen it.
Not just because they are expected to make some big splashes, but also because they need to make a lot of moves. They only have 3 players under contract. We can count Tyrese Maxey in that because we know they will eventually give him a max deal. But even with him, they only have Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Ricky Council IV, and Paul Reed.
Paul Reed is expected to be cut. His money is not guaranteed, and he was a massive disappointment as the backup center last season. So that really leaves the Sixers with 3 players, one of whom is Ricky Council.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 15: President of basketball operations Daryl Morey looks on during a press conference at the Seventy Sixers Practice Facility on February 15, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey.
Sixers Free Agency Is Underway
There have been big rumors around the Sixers, and what they will do with all the cap space Daryl Morey saved up last season. They finally got Tobias Harris off the books, and almost every other player was on an expiring contract.
That was all on purpose. Morey basically punted last season, to try to go all in for this free-agency period. He didn't force any moves that would have limited what they could do this off-season. The trades he did make, were for expiring contracts.
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)So will that bold strategy pay off? Can Morey land a big fish to get the Sixers closer to competing with the Celtics? Will they make the move that finally gets them past the 2nd round, and maybe even to the NBA Finals? Let's find out.
Follow along here to track what happens in Sixers Free Agency:
Sixers Re-Sign KJ Martin
This deal is interesting. Why would they pay a guy who barely saw the court this much money? Well it has something to do with how complicated the NBA Cap is. To make a trade, you usually need to send money back. The problem is players the Sixers are paying they mostly want to keep. Now they have a movable player they can trade, and make the money work.
For reasons that are hard to explain, and I don't fully understand myself, his contract also allows them to take back more money. They can take back a more expensive player than they would be able to fit into their cap. So expect KJ martin to eventually be traded. The move may be baffling on paper, but it gives them extra flexibility to add another semi expensive player later this off-season. So it is actually a really good move that can allow them to make an even better move down the road.
Grade- A
Sixers Sign Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry, on a small deal, is a net positive for the team. he brings leadership, and can be the point guard off the bench. But we saw how little he has left in the tank last year. He cant be anything more than a guy with 15 minutes off he bench per game. As long as they don't expect more than that, it is a good deal.
Grade- B
Sixers Sign Caleb Martin
They took several days off from making moves, but after a few days of negotiation, the Sixers landed Caleb Martin. Martin is a proven playoff performer and a top-level defender. He should be the final piece of their starting 5, with it being Maxey, Oubre, Martin, George, and Embiid. But they could still tinker with things and move Oubre or Martin to the bench feasibly.
It's a great move, bringing in another plus defender. Maxey is the only weak link on defense now, and even he has improved.
Grade- A
Sixers Give Tyrese Maxey 5-Year Max Extension
We knew this was coming, we just had to wait for the Paul George to happen 1st. Maxey has turned into a true star. He is what we call a certified bucket. He is also the 1st player to ever pick up Embiid on a night he struggled in the playoffs.
This is 100% deserved. Maxey has become a top 15 scorer in the NBA. He finished 11th with 25.9 points per game. In the playoffs, he was 5th with 29.8 points per game. Embiid is still the present for the Sixers, but Maxey is the future. He will only be 27 when George's contract expires.
Grade- A
Sixers Land Paul George
There it is. We knew it was coming. But they waited for us to go to sleep before they made it official. At 3:30 ET the Sixers landed the big fish they were after, Paul George.
George is not the perfect players. For 1, he is 34, and injury prone. But if they were going to keep up with the Celtics, they needed another high-level player, and George was the best option. He still averages over 20 points per game, shoots over 40% from 3, and plays great defense.
We might see this hurt them a few years from now. But for now, it makes them the 2nd best team in the league. If Morey can get creative and fill out the roster the right way, they could get up there with the Celtics too.
Grade- A
Kelly Oubre Returns
Signing Kelly Oubre Jr to a minimum contract last season was a strike of genius. He turned into arguably their 3rd best player. With Paul George now here, that won't be the case again. But having Oubre around should still be a big help. He is a cheapish option, that they know they can count on.
Oubre averaged 15.4 points per game last season. He can slide into one of their starting roles, and now they just need a starting SG, then a bench. He will cost slightly more than the minimum this time, but still is affordable, leaving room for the Sixers to make more moves around the trio of Embiid, Maxey, and George. Great move.
Grade- A
Rumor: Clippers Out On Paul George
The Clippers took the rare step of thanking a player for their service before he signed elsewhere. This whole time, the gap between the Clippers and George was the guaranteed 4th year. George wants it, Clippers don't want to give it to him. Apparently, that is not going to change. They released this statement confirming they are moving on from Paul George.
Sixers Sign Eric Gordon To Vet Minimum Deal
With Maxey soon to sign a max deal, the Sixers looking to sign a free agent to another max deal, and embiid already on the Max, Morey will have to get creative to fill out the rest of the roster.
Enter Eric Gordon on a vet minimum deal. The 35-year-old averaged 11 points per game last year with the Suns. Over a 16-year career, he has never failed to average at least 10 points per game. Is Gordon a game-changer? Not, but with everything else the Sixers plan to do, he is a good guy to have around at the cost.
He is still a good shooter, and can still give a team a solid 20 minutes. At such a low cost, it is hard to complain about this one.
Grade: B
Sixers Sign Andre Drummond
Backup big was not the most pressing need, but it was a need. Paul Reed and Mo Bamba did not get it done last year. They need someone to keep the ship steady when Embiid comes off the floor or misses a game. They get that in Andre Drummond.
Drummond is the best backup Embiid ever had. He only lasted half a season here before being packaged in the James Harden deal. Now he returns on a 2-year deal.
It is hard to find any reason to complain about this one. Drummond is an elite rebounder, a solid defender, and is among the best backup bigs in the league. They get him at a more than reasonable price, and ensure they have someone they can trust behind Embiid. Great move.
Grade- A
