CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made one move at the trade deadline, acquiring Jalen McDaniels in a four-team deal that included sending Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The move brought the Sixers below the luxury tax threshold, giving team president Daryl Morey and the front office flexibility for the buyout market and the offseason. They also wanted to improve the team and its chances of ending the 2022-23 season with a championship. Morey believed the Sixers achieved both goals with this move.
“The focus was just make the team better,” Morey said. “We feel like we did that. I feel that, as part of my job, I have to look at the bigger picture and we have a lot of guys we’re gonna re-sign. The moves we did both improve the team now and make it easier to keep this team together going forward.”
That also includes the buyout market. There are plenty of players both at the big man position and on the wings who the Sixers can inquire about and they believe they have the ability to do so now.
“Some of that flexibility that we got allows us to add multiple buyouts if they come,” Morey added. “We’re actively looking at that and nothing to announce yet, but we’re actively looking at several players right now.”
Then, there is the backup center position. That spot is manned by Montrezl Harrell and Paul Reed. Both are serviceable players, but when Joel Embiid goes to the bench, the Sixers struggle without him. The front office tried to address that need through a trade, but was unable to do so.
“We looked at all our needs and tried to look for upgrades wherever we could,” Morey added. “We made the move that we thought was the best available. We looked at everything. This was the best move.”
When asked to assess the backup big man position, Morey was more concerned with how the team struggles when Embiid is off the floor.
“I think we have a lot of versatility with the lineup,” he finished. “Doc (Rivers) does a very good job of figuring it out. I think there’s a whole bunch of ways that we can — just to be fair, I think what most people are worried about is when Joel’s off. Like how are we gonna play when Joel’s off? I think we’re going to improve that. That hasn’t been as good as we want it to be.”
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