Daryl Morey wants to ‘open all the doors’ to the Sixers being a championship contender. Is free agency one of them?

This offseason, the Sixers could have close to $65 million available in free agency. They also have a first-round draft pick, among others. What will they do with those assets?

Sixers president Daryl Morey cleaned up a mess when he came aboard in 2020. Can he avoid the mistakes his predecessors made?Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey | Columnist

Published May 12, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

Daryl Morey turned a bad situation into a manageable one shortly after being hired as the 76ers president of basketball operations.

Now, the 51-year-old is tasked with making sure he doesn’t recreate the mess he cleaned up in 2020.

This offseason, the Sixers could have close to $65 million available in free agency. They also have a first-round pick (No. 16), second-rounder (No. 41), and future picks to lump into a trade to acquire a player to fit around All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

But as Embiid pointed out, having available cap space doesn’t guarantee success.

“They have the opportunity to do something good,” Embiid said of the Sixers’ front office. “But then again, who is going to be available with free agency and trades? So you can have all that stuff, but you also have be lucky that something else comes up.”

The truth is this is a less-than-stellar-free-agency class.

Even though he’ll be a restricted free agent whom the Sixers will re-sign, Maxey is regarded as the summer’s top free agent, according to Hoopshype.

Los Angeles Clippers swingman Paul George and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James are second and third, respectively, if they opt out of their contracts for the 2024-25 season. So there’s a chance the projected top three free-agent targets won’t be available.

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam and New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who are fourth and fifth on the list, respectively, might opt to re-sign with their current teams. Both have played key roles in their team’s success after being acquired via January trades from the Toronto Raptors.

Clippers point guard James Harden, who’s sixth on the list, forced a trade from the Sixers in November. That came after saying he would never play for an organization Morey was a part of. So he’s not an option.

Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan is seventh. The 34-year-old is a less-than-ideal fit to play alongside Embiid and Maxey.

Sixers forward Tobias Harris is ranked eighth on the list. Let’s just say it might be best for both sides to go their separate ways. Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges is ninth, followed by Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, and Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, if he opts out of his deal.

“The main mistake that could be made that we won’t make is if some of the better options don’t go our way, trade into our cap space, free agents, turn our draft picks into things,” Morey said, “if all those things don’t yield what we want, we are definitely not going to just sign some player for a lot of money who’s just an OK player.

“That will be where we can’t continue to build a contender around Joel and Tyrese. So in those scenarios, we’ll [be] doing shorter deals and then using our draft picks to set ourselves up for trade or set ourselves up for the next opportunity when it comes.”

Morey added that the Sixers want to “open all of the doors” to become a championship contender. But they can’t afford to “close future doors,” unless they’re making a move that guarantees them being at least the best in the Eastern Conference.

This takes us back to when Morey was hired on Nov. 2, 2020, to take over a squad with spacing issues, a poorly constructed roster, and bad contracts that made the goal to compete for an NBA title extremely tough.

But on the night of the draft on Nov. 19, 2020, under his watch, the Sixers cleaned up the huge mess that the front office created in the summer of 2019. Morey drafted Maxey, polished the roster with much-needed shooters via trades for Seth Curry and Danny Green, and swept away Al Horford’s contract. (The trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder for Green wasn’t finalized until Dec. 8, 2020.)

Looking back, selecting Maxey with the 21st pick was genius. But getting out from underneath Horford’s massive contract was just as big. The veteran had three seasons left on the four-year, $97 million guaranteed deal he signed in free agency on July 10, 2019. The power forward/center could have made up to $109 million with championship bonuses.

Morey knows the Sixers can’t afford to make the same mistakes.

Of the potential free agents, James would be the best option.

Even at 39, he’s one of the league’s elite players. The four-time MVP and all-time scoring leader (40,474 points) is someone Embiid respects. But it doesn’t make sense for him to come to Philly unless the Sixers draft his son, Bronny James. That would enable LeBron to live out a dream of playing with his firstborn. Aside from that, he has businesses and a production company based in Los Angeles. That’s why it’s hard to imagine James signing with the Sixers.

If he opts out, George would be a good fit. Anunoby would fit to a lesser degree if the Sixers can’t get George. Siakam would be an OK fit.

“That’s a great position to be in,” Embiid said of the Sixers’ cap space. “You got a superstar [in Maxey] coming in. You know the face of the franchise for the next — for his whole career really coming in, and that’s exciting. You know, myself trying to build something great here.

“Then again, based on what they are doing, like I said, I love our guys. I love the guys that we have. But, you know, we just got to make sure we work on ourselves and come back as better basketball players.”