NBA Rumors: Veteran eyeing 76ers return over better rival offer

The Philadelphia 76ers seem content to stand by for now, but the front office still has something to address despite a job done tremendously well this offseason. With the franchise eyeing to snap a four decades-long title drought, it’s only apt for the team to foolproof as much as possible and get rid of all potential holes before they widen and make a void.

In conjunction, the team still has two openings on its standard roster, leaving some room for a key veteran or two to make the team and help fill remnant voids. One area they can still bolster is the forward position, and as luck would have it, one of the better players available in the free agency market is rumored to be eyeing a return to the 76ers.

Marcus Morris rumored to be prioritizing 76ers return over better Cavs offer

As reported by Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required), veteran forward Marcus Morris, who remains unplucked in the open market, the 76ers remain the favorites to sign the Philly native as a free agent.

Morris finished last season with the Cavaliers after getting dealt by the 76ers at the deadline. Cleveland is reportedly willing to go over the veteran’s minimum to sign him back, but despite Philadelphia not having the power to offer him more, he still glowingly talked about the prospect of returning to Philly.

It felt like it [playing for the 76ers] was something that just helped my career,. You know sometimes you’ve been doing it for so long that you find different things that get you up for playing. Being home is one of those things for me. I just felt so free. I just felt so much love. So it’s like, yeah, man, I would definitely entertain coming back. I just hope we can get something going hopefully.

The 76ers do need help at power forward, and Morris can still supply 16-20 minutes a game as a three-and-D forward who can impose his physicality and length on defense and hit open three-pointers. His experience playing next to Paul George for quite a while during their time with the Clippers should also help.

Having said that, Philadelphia’s front office is also eyeing other players, but Morris should remain readily available for them as a pivot if they want to, so long as other teams keep their hands off of him.