Key takeaways from Daryl Morey’s final press conference of 2023-2024 season

After an NBA team concludes their season whether it’s after the regular season or from a playoff exit, each team does a routine exit press conference involving their front office and players. For the Philadelphia 76ers, who were eliminated 4-2 in the first round by the New York Knicks last week, President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey spoke to the press this afternoon.

With the disappointment of being a first-round exit looming in the air along with the 76ers set to have at least $55 million in cap space and just four players on the books this Summer, Daryl Morey had a lot to address. 

This Summer will be fun.

📸: @BobbyMarks42 pic.twitter.com/8ml7HqJZtk

— Jacob Moreno (@Jacobmorenonba) May 3, 2024

Daryl Morey’s offseason approach

• Daryl Morey made it clear that the front office is looking for players who complement both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and that there are no certain criteria in terms of whether said player is a star on a max contract or simply a quality role player.

This is the best approach that Philadelphia’s front office can take heading into an offseason where the most notable players expected to be available are LeBron James and Paul George, who both have player options.

Whether or not Paul George is worthy of a max contract at this stage of his career is up for debate, but the one approach the 76ers cannot take is star hunting if a “star” truly isn’t available as the last time Philadelphia’s front office tried this, they ended up with Tobias Harris and Al Horford on max contracts.

The 76ers have to avoid financially handicapping themselves with bad contracts and focus on quality role players like Gary Trent Jr. or Malik Monk to fill out the team from top to bottom. However, if LeBron James declines his player option, or Paul George is willing to give the 76ers some flexibility, or if Jimmy Butler were to become available for trade, that’s when Philadelphia should look to add on another star.

• Daryl Morey said the 76ers’ biggest need heading into next season is “someone at the wing who can play and deliver in the playoffs”. (via Austin Krell) and further noted that he wouldn’t shy away from the challenge of building around three max-contract players (via Paul Hudrick). 

Morey certainly isn’t wrong as in the entirety of the Joel Embiid era, Philadelphia has never truly had a high-quality wing player who has majorly contributed when the lights are at their brightest, outside of Jimmy Butler who was with the 76ers for just the 2018-2019 season. With Morey’s wording on this statement, it’s safe to assume that he was hinting at potentially pursuing a star-level wing, which could very well be Paul George or Jimmy Butler.

Daryl Morey’s view of 76ers’ upcoming free agents

• Daryl Morey stated that Nick Nurse, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul Reed, and Ricky Council IV are the only members of the organization who are certain to return next season and added that “we don’t know who’s going to be back next year.” (via Noah Levick). 

All signs indicate that the 76ers will guarantee Reed’s $7.7 million salary next season. Throughout his tenure in Philadelphia, Reed has proved productive in certain matchups where the 76ers have needed to roll out smaller lineups and the reserve center always operates with a high motor, especially off the glass. 

However, Reed greatly struggled against the Knicks in the playoffs, specifically against the height and physicality of their frontcourt. So, if the 76ers bring him back, they must also explore another reserve center who can match up well with teams like New York and the first big man that comes to mind is former 76er Andre Drummond. 

• Daryl Morey said “We’re going to have a lot of change this offseason” (via Michael K-B) and claimed that the front office has an interest in retaining all of their free agents, but admits it’s not likely they’ll all return and restated how the front office has to operate within the context of the CBA (via Austin Krell).

• Daryl Morey went on further to say that Kelly Oubre Jr. was “such a breath of fresh air” (via Lauren Rosen), Buddy Hield’s fit was less good as he thought as he was unable to get as many open looks with Embiid on the floor as they expected (via Kyle Neubeck), and that Tobias Harris can contribute on a contending team (via Michael K-B).

Daryl Morey says the team “has interest” in attempting to re-sign all their unrestricted free agents this offseason — who are:

— Tobias Harris
— Buddy Hield
— Nicolas Batum
— Robert Covington
— De'Anthony Melton
— Kyle Lowry
— Mo Bamba
— KJ Martin
— Kelly Oubre Jr.
— Cam Payne

— Philly Sixers Galaxy (@sixers_galaxy) May 6, 2024

Kelly Oubre Jr, who was signed to a minimum contract this season, was arguably Philadelphia’s third-best player this year and appeared as one of, if not, the biggest free agency steal of the 2023 offseason. Morey constantly restated that Philadelphia has an interest in retaining all of their upcoming free agents and Oubre should be at the top of this list as he evolved into a quality two-way wing under Nick Nurse and the vibes were at a high. 

Buddy Hield’s stint with the 76ers was disappointing when you account for all the hype that surrounded him when he got traded to Philadelphia during the past trade deadline and how his top-notch floor spacing ability would be a picture-perfect fit next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Aside from exploding for 17 points in the first half of game six against the Knicks, Hield was practically unplayable in the first round as he was tentative to shoot and when he did, his attempts routinely misfired. Despite that, Hield, although streaky, still is an elite shooter in this league and should return to Philadelphia at the right price. 

People all over social media were freaking out about Morey’s praiseful comments on Tobias Harris, but 76ers fans need to realize that Morey’s answer was more of a political response than publicly trashing and criticizing a player who’s been with the organization for five years would be a terrible look for the 76ers and there was simply no need to. 

If there’s one main takeaway from Daryl Morey’s press conference, it’s that the 76ers are entering a retooling period and the front office will explore all options to improve the team whether it’s adding a series of complimentary players or pursuing a third star, which is something Morey slightly hinted at throughout parts of the media session. Regardless, this 76ers team will look very different come October.

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