For as long as Daryl Morey is the head poncho for the Philadelphia 76ers — or really, for any team — count on the franchise he leads to give everyone a crash course on how to chase rainbows and pump out angel tears.
As everyone knows, the 76ers will soon be on deck for what should be their most pivotal decision to make yet this year. The 2025 NBA Draft is finally within arm’s reach, and at this very juncture, the front office should already have a clear grasp of the direction they would like to take during the annual festivity.
However, everyone has constructive notice of the Morey factor by now, meaning that no one should count the 76ers out when it comes to pulling off a stunner out of left field. Heck, the longtime executive must be preoccupied working the phones, trying to pull a sucker punch on everybody with an ambitious goal in mind.
No, we are not talking about blackmailing the Mavericks into handing them the rights to select Cooper Flagg — that would be too preternatural, even by Moreyian standards. Instead, the 76ers are probably still fantasizing about the thought of moving up to No. 2, where they would then be able to select Dylan Harper, who is also on a league of his own in this year’s draft class.
Harsh rumor finally puts an end to this unrealistic 76ers goal
Not so fast, though, says San Antonio. According to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, while the Spurs remain open to listening to offers for the second overall pick, they have set such an exorbitant price tag that it would be very difficult, if not completely unrealistic, for teams to make a play in order to move up to No. 2.
Truthfully speaking, though, this is nothing more than San Antonio posturing just like any other team in their position would. In reality, the Spurs see no reason to trade their pick, especially as they aim to return to the playoffs with Victor Wembanyama leading the way.
If anything, this should be plenty sufficient for the 76ers to completely abandon this train of thought, if remnants of such still exist. Philadelphia would obviously be in a much better position if they are able to draft someone like Harper, but having the third overall pick also arms them with a lot of optionality.
The 76ers can make an outright selection, trade down before they even make their pick, or select a prospect and commence a subsequent bidding war to extract more assets. Really, Morey and his crew are not lacking in any way in this regard.
While this would seem like a reach, the good news is the Philadelphia 76ers can be even more laser-focused on making the most out of their own pick, setting the franchise up for what should be a very opportunistic draft night.