Daryl Morey shockingly reveals the 76ers' controversial plan for the offseason

With the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery four days away, Philadelphia 76ers fans are getting more anxious by the minute. Daryl Morey added to the mix of excitement and unrest by appearing on 97.5 “The Fanatic” and the "Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast” today. Morey addressed questions regarding Philadelphia’s 2025 first-round pick, Joel Embiid’s injury, and its polarizing trio of Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George. Whether Morey’s vision is correct is a matter of opinion, but he did shed some light on his plans

Morey shares his plans for the 2025 NBA Draft

On Monday, the highly anticipated draft lottery will commence and reveal the fate of Philadelphia’s incoming first-round pick. As a reminder, the 76ers will retain the pick if it falls between selections one through six. However, if the selection lands outside of that range, it will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a trade completed by these two teams in November 2020. Needless to say, if Philadelphia regains its pick, it has a chance to acquire a talent that could maximize its odds now and extend its competitive timeline. 

During his appearance on 97.5 “The Fanatic”, Morey was asked why people should trust him to right the 76ers’ wrongs: "First losing season I have ever had,” Morey said. “More deep playoff runs than pretty much any executive. I have never been in the lottery. I am pretty good at winning thing." Although Morey has accumulated a winning percentage of .601 throughout his career as a lead NBA executive that began with the Houston Rockets in 2007-08, fans didn’t take this response well, considering the brutal season that the 76ers just endured. 

Still, Philadelphia has a 63.9% chance to retain its pick and a 10.5% probability to acquire the first overall pick. If the 76ers were to get so lucky, they would more than likely select Cooper Flagg – the player unanimously believed to be the best player in the incoming draft class. Morey shared a similar sentiment on the "Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast”: "This might be one of those years where it's fairly obvious. I think the [first overall pick] is where we can drop the act."

Morey hints at 76ers players who will return next season

Aside from the draft, Philadelphia will have a busy offseason as it has two unrestricted free agents in Kyle Lowry and Guerschon Yabusele, three restricted free agents in Quentin Grimes, Jeff Dowtin, and Jalen Hood-Schifino, three players with team options in Lonnie Walker IV, Jared Butler, and Justin Edwards, and three players with player options in Kelly Oubre Jr, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon. 

While many of these players’ future with the 76ers hangs in the balance, Morey gave clarity on three players who are likely returning: "I believe Kelly, I think Drummond, I think Eric, they're all likely to come back,” Morey said on the "Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast”. Together, their player options will take up approximately $16.9 million of Philadelphia’s cap space. Since the status of the 76ers’ first-round pick is still in question, it’s impossible to dictate exactly how these combined salaries will affect them. Still, Philadelphia will likely be limited in terms of flexibility.

The 76ers are still committed to their big three

This season, the tandem of Embiid, Maxey, and George established themselves as one of the most disappointing cores in the NBA. Philadelphia’s supposed star trio went 7-8 in the games it briefly played together, and there are plenty of valid reasons to question its potential. Regardless, anyone hoping that the 76ers would blow up their roster and enter a rebuild this summer is being unrealistic, and Morey shared a similar opinion on 97.5 “The Fanatic”: "We are committed to Paul, Maxey, and Embiid,” Morey said.

Philadelphia remains focused on building a viable supporting cast around its stars as Morey aims for its rotation to largely consist of players 25 years old or younger who can offer more dynamic play and athleticism. While that sounds great on paper, the 76ers’ contention hopes still rely on Embiid and his ability to return to a Most Valuable Player level. He was limited to 19 games this season, shut down in late February, and underwent another procedure in April. 

On the "Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast”, Morey revealed that Embiid is progressing well, but is uncertain if he can return to his peak form: "Look, nobody knows what [Joel Embiid's] future will be,” Morey said. “We're optimistic, but nobody knows [...] We have a wide range of outcomes, we're optimistic, but part of sports is to not know. We are maybe the most unknown team in the NBA." 

Only time will tell if Embiid can bounce back, but time is also ticking.