Hoarding is a disease, but in the world of the NBA, it is simply an unassailable pathway to success. The Philadelphia 76ers, bannered up top by team president Daryl Morey, have no inhibitions about accumulating talent across the board.
In fact, come next offseason, one can safely bet on the 76ers looking much different on paper. No other team in the NBA is projected to have more spending power than them in free agency, and they have a considerable number of assets they can flip for more win-now commodities.
That being said, Morey’s star-hunting strategy, while deeply rooted and occasionally justified, could eventually backfire if he keeps on pushing on the wrong buttons.
The Philadelphia 76ers need to be more wary about Daryl Morey’s aggressive star-hunting approach
According to a recent report by ESPN Senior Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Morey attempted to go all-out before the trade deadline, going as far as to knock on the Lakers’ door for a potential trade for All-Star forward LeBron James.
Not to be outdone, Rob Pelinka, Los Angeles’ GM, countered by inquiring about Joel Embiid’s availability, quashing those talks. But apparently, Morey also tried to get into inexistent trade soapboxes for the Sun’s troika of stars in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, obviously to no avail.
To Morey’s defense, inquiring does zero harm and is virtually free. However, not all buttons should be pushed, and rapport-building between NBA front offices has long been one of the more important, yet definitive motifs in potentially landing big names and other high-end players, especially when offers start having the same kind of heft.
That being said, his latest whiffs are probably note indicative of how the summer could unfold for the 76ers, though it’s quite apparent that their aggression should perhaps be tempered to more rational proportions. Otherwise, they can lose sight of more tenable options by going straight for the highest hanging fruit on an apparent whim.