To the dismay of Philadelphia 76ers fans, Daryl Morey is keeping the “Big 3” intact and doesn’t plan on moving on from oft-injured stars Joel Embiid and Paul George following a calamitous season.
The Sixers’ president of basketball operations told 97.5 The Fanatic on Thursday that Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey will be part of the 76ers next season.
“Look, we’re committed to Joel, Paul, and Tyrese,” Morey said.
Both Maxey and Embiid are owed $163 million and $244.3 million through 2029, respectively, while George will make $162.3 million through 2028, if he picks up his player option.
Embiid only played in 19 games while dealing with a left knee injury that never improved, as George was limited to 41 games due to multiple injuries. Maxey also missed 30 games and was shut down late in the season due to a finger injury.
On top of injuries, one of the biggest issues was Morey signing aging veterans who played poorly. The executive admitted it was a disastrous season and that they will be better heading into 2025-26 by going younger.
“Look, I would say the roster next year is going to be much stronger. One thing when you have a disaster season is how do you take advantage of it? You want to give yourself a chance at a high pick in the draft, which we have,” stated Morey. The 76ers will only get to keep their draft pick if it falls in the top six. If not, it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Morey touched on how young the roster will be going into the season.
“Next year, our roster will be more athletic and younger with [Quentin] Grimes, [Justin] Edwards, [Adem] Bona, Jared McCain, and potentially a top draft pick. We’re gonna have a healthier team. So I would say hang in. We feel your pain, fans and you know let’s let’s play this out next year we feel very strongly about next year.”
The biggest cloud hanging over the franchise is the health of Embiid and if he can come back to his dominant self. He recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Morey says he’s “optimistic” Embiid will return to his MVP form.
“He’s with the doctor who did Kawhi [Leonard]. He was up in New York working with him this week. He is working every day at the facility. He’s working hard doing whatever he can to get back out on the floor… His issues are not, I broke my arm. It heals if you come back. This is more of a complex case where these things can either trend in a good direction over time. And we believe they will,” explained Morey.
Morey was also asked why fans should still trust him and his answer could leave some rolling their eyes.
“This is the first losing season I’ve ever had. More deep playoff runs than pretty much any executive in league history. I’ve never been to the lottery, you know, probably because we only win. So I’m pretty good at the winning thing,” he said, despite never winning an NBA championship as an executive or even getting to the finals.
The 76ers will learn Monday if they will be able to keep their draft pick.
