Daryl Morey Still Confident The Sixers Can Win With This Group
Last season was a disaster for the Sixers. Daryl Morey is not hiding from that fact. It would be hard to deny after they went from having great odds to…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 15: President of basketball operations Daryl Morey of the Philadelphia Flyers 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)Last season was a disaster for the Sixers. Daryl Morey is not hiding from that fact. It would be hard to deny after they went from having great odds to win it all, to having the 5th worst record in the NBA. But Morey still has faith that things can and will get better next season.
The Sixers' President of Basketball Operations joined The Mike Missanelli Show on Thursday. While he did not deny that things went very poorly, he feels good about next season and attempted to give some reasons for hope.
Here is some of what Daryl Morey had to say.
Bright Side Of Disaster Season
It is hard to find a bright side with a season like that. But he does feel good about the potential of a high draft pick. He also feels good about some of the young players they found this season.
"Yeah, it was a disaster season. There's really no way to say anything but that. Look, I would say the roster next year is going to be much stronger. One thing when you have a disaster season is how do you take advantage of it? You want to give yourself a chance at a high pick in the draft, which we have.
Next year, our roster will be more athletic and younger with Grimes, Edwards, Bona, Jared McCain, and potentially a top draft pick . We're gonna have a healthier team. So I would say hang in. We feel your pain, fans and you know let's let's play this out next year we feel very strongly about next year."
Some of that is true. Jared McCain looked great before the injury. He likely would have won Rookie of the Year. There were also some young roles players that blossomed. That said, someone has to score points on a team. You could go 0-82, and the team will still average at least 80. So how much of Grimes great play was him being talented, and how much was it the Sixers just needing someone to score those points?
At the very least, those young guys should be there to give the Sixers bench minutes. And having youth of the bench is certainly worth having, as we learned from the Sixers' mistakes last season.
Youth Movement
One thing Morey was very forthcoming about was a mistake he made last season. He thought going with a more veteran, experienced lineup would pay off come playoff time. What he did not anticipate was that an older lineup would have more injuries, and they needed youth and athleticism just to get to the playoffs.
"I put this on me. My thinking was there as well as how do I get this group healthy and into the playoffs, how do I have playoff-level players? Generally, those are players with playoff experience, ones that sort of round out, can shoot things like that. What I did not do well was make sure we had the youth and athleticism to get through the regular season and put us in that position. And that's something we will do next year."
Morey went on to say that a majority of the guys in their rotation next season will be 25 and younger. Which is good. Having a few vets is nice. But the Sixers were way too reliant on guys in their mid-30s. As Daryl Morey admitted, that was a big mistake.
The Health of Joel Embiid
The biggest question with the Sixers is Embiid. More important than getting the 1st round pick this year, more important than Paul George, more important than anything, is if Embiid will be healthy next season. While Daryl Morey declined to give us any more information than the Sixers have already released, he did at least claim to be confident Embiid will be back to MVP form next year.
"It looks optimistic. He's with the doctor who did Kawhi. He was up in New York working with him this week. He is working every day at the facility. He's working hard doing whatever he can to get back out on the floor... His issues are not, I broke my arm. It heals if you come back. This is more of a complex case where these things can either trend in a good direction over time. And we believe they will. "
Obviously, that leaves some room for it not to work out. They think it will. They kind of have to think it will. But like Morey said, it is complex. They hope the scope worked and his knee will be healthy next season. But this is not one of those surgeries where you know the problem was fixed. We won't know for sure until he is back on the court.
Embiid Playing In the Olympics
A major sticking point fr a lot of Sixers fans was Embiid playing in the Olympics last season. Did it contribute to his injury? Would rest have caused things to go better this season? Morey does not think so, and defended Embiid's choice to play.
"We were very positive about his Olympic experience. Doctors were very comfortable and actually thought it would be positive for him to participate in it. So we had no issues with that. And it was a proud moment for him and the United States to win that gold."
Does Not Think We Have Seen The Best Of Joel Embiid
Mike Miss asked Daryl Morey if we have seen the best of Joel Embiid. Morey does not think so.
"I don't think that's written. I don't think we know that. I think MVP Joel Embiid is still potentially there. We won't know until we go through the season, but he's in an age where lots of players still play to their prime. He's in an age where lots of players, even with issues, have come back and played at a high level. So, no, I do not think that."
Again, we won't know if Morey is right or not until Embiid plays. But at least publicly, he seems confident that the Embiid who pushes for the league lead in scoring every year still exists.
Committed to Current Core
Mike asked Daryl Morey if the team would entertain trade talks for Paul George or Joel Embiid. Morey did not say no, but he did say this.
"Look, we're committed to Joel, Paul, and Tyrese"
Why Fans Should Trust Him
Finally, Mike asked him why fans should still trust him. Morey did not hold back on pumping up his own NBA resume.
"This first losing season I've ever had. More deep left runs than pretty much any executive in league history. I've never been to the lottery, you know, probably because we only win. So I'm pretty good at the winning thing."
Some of what he said is true. As an executive, he has the 13th most wins in league history. With a .601 winning percentage, he has the 31st-best record in NBA history. He also has the 12th most playoff wins.
But he also has no conference championships, and by extension, no actual championships. After the team just experienced a disaster season, fans don't want to hear about his past accomplishments. Like every other GM here, Morey has failed to get this team past the 2nd round. In the last 2 years he didn't even get them to the 2nd round.
Are injuries his fault? Tough to say. Yes there is bad luck involved. But he did invest big money in 2 injury-prone players. Like he said, he also brought in a lot of older players, who tend to be more injury-prone.
It is tough to blame him for the time Maxey or McCain missed. But it is was not hard to predict Embiid, George, Lowry, or any of the 34 year old vets they signed having those problems.
Daryl Morey left off with one last dose of optimism.
The Celtics aren't going to be able to keep that team together. A lot of these teams that are doing well are going to have challenges keeping their team together. Whereas we're going to have a younger, more dynamic group around three top players. So obviously we'll see how it plays out. We're going to need injuries to go our way. But otherwise, we feel very good about the team next year."
Morey will have a hard time selling Sixers fans on anything right now. The already fractured trust between fans and team was shattered this past season. He, Embiid, Nurse, George, and the rest of the team have a ton to prove if they want to win the trust back.
He is saying nice things. If he is right, the Sixers will have a good chance to win next year. But Sixers fans are not going to be Charlie Brown. They are not going to keep trusting that Lucy won't pull the football up at the last second. They have heard this before, and seen this story before.
The fanbase didn't fully buy into the Eagles until after the NFC Championship game. No matter how good the Phillies play this year, many fans will not buy it until they see it again in October. The Sixers have even more work to do to win the trust back.
