With Daryl Morey leading the way, the Philadelphia 76ers are expectedly shooting for the stars his season, literally and figuratively. Right after the team got booted out in the playoffs, the rumor mill started chruning harder for the franchise, getting linked to various big names and A-listers left and right.
Now, the 76ers haven’t made any deals yet, but with the NBA Draft just a few days away and free agency having already unofficially begun, it’s only a matter of time until we hear something big from the Philadelphia front office.
Rumored ultimatum from Daryl Morey could make life tougher for the 76ers this offseason
Having said that, what recently came out aout the 76ers’ strategy — at least from Daryl Morey’s reckoning — could make life a bit tougher for them this offseason, a departure from what normally should be an open forum of which-player-to-pluck for a team with as much cap space as they do.
According to Marc Stein in his Substack (subscription required), while the team has been linked to a slew of stars including Brandon Ingram, Jimmy Butler, and DeMar DeRozan, Morey’s preference is a star who profiles as a high-volume three-point marksman to complement Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
With Paul George now a bygone in their whiteboard, the 76ers don’t really have a blue-chip option to fill Morey’s rumored archetype. Ingram is primarily a mid-range operator who can shoot threes on medium volume at most, while both Butler and DeRozan tend to avoid the rainbow country whenever possible in favor of middies and rim-runs.
That could prove the be a death knell to the 76ers’ long stated desire to plug in a third star. But frankly speaking, that could prompt them to look into more modest options who can present more moldable play styles all while being a ton cheaper than these big names.
Anyhow, the 76ers have a lot of optionality on their hands, though Daryl Morey’s all-encompassing edict could completely alter their offseason strategy. While not necessarily a bad thing, it should make for a less predictable summer slate for the franchise.