Tag: Daryl Morey

Kendrick Perkins explains how James Harden’s 2012 Team USA stint led to his trade to Houston

In a new podcast, NBA analyst and former teammate Kendrick Perkins explains how James Harden’s 2012 stint on Team USA laid the groundwork for his trade to Houston.

The October 2012 blockbuster trade that sent James Harden from Oklahoma City to Houston resulted in the Rockets acquiring a player widely viewed as the second best in franchise history (trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon, a two-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer).

On the “Road Trippin’”  podcast, Kendrick Perkins — once Harden’s Thunder teammate and now a league analyst for ESPN — says that historic Harden-to-Houston deal got an assist from high places.

As Perkins recalls, it was Harden’s gold-medal run with the United States men’s national team at the 2012 Olympics that laid the groundwork for his Oklahoma City departure. According to Perkins, it was Harden’s distinguished Team USA teammates — namely, legendary players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — who convinced Harden that he was worthy of an expanded role.

Via Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire:

“(Kevin Durant) said, ‘Man, (we’re) about to lose (Harden)’,” Perkins said. “… At the Olympics (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade), all those guys were telling James, ‘Bro, (you’re) too nice to be coming off the bench… You need to have your own team.’”

The full podcast and the Olympics snippet can be viewed below.

A few months later, Oklahoma City’s then-sixth man rejected the team’s contract-extension offer. From there, the fourth-year guard was traded to Houston for a package heavy on cheap, young prospects and draft assets. That deal allowed the Thunder to avoid any risks associated with keeping an unhappy Harden — who could’ve become a restricted free agent a year later — on the roster.

Eight All-Star appearances and a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award later, it’s clear that Houston won that transaction. Then-general manager Daryl Morey was the architect, but it appears that James and Wade may have played a behind-the-scenes role, as well.

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Eric Gordon singles out Daryl Morey in reasoning for joining Sixers

Eric Gordon singles out Daryl Morey in his reasoning for joining the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is certainly a man who is not afraid to pull the trigger on any deal if he feels as if it will help his team take the next step. He has made big moves plenty of times in his NBA career in a front office.

This offseason has been a big example of that as he has brought in Paul George, Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, and Eric Gordon in an effort to help the Sixers take the next step in the Eastern Conference.

On a Zoom call on Wednesday, Gordon singled out Morey in his reasoning for joining the Sixers in free agency.

“Obviously, when you have a chance to play for a good, world-renowned organization with a good coaching staff and a potentially good team, I mean, it was almost like a no-brainer,” said Gordon. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Daryl Morey from back in Houston. I know he’s religious about winning. So I thought when you look at the roster, we have a pretty good roster, so it’s very intriguing to be here.”

Morey has put the Sixers in a position to win since he took over in Philadelphia in 2020. In that initial offseason, he sent out Al Horford and Josh Richardson and brought back Seth Curry and Danny Green to put spacing around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

In 2022, he waited for the right move to send Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden. When Harden wanted out, Morey sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers for expiring contracts to make a run at George. He has always done what’s best for Philadelphia to be a contender.

Morey also brought in coach Nick Nurse who’s known for his unorthodox schemes and willingness to win. That’s also what drew Gordon to the Sixers.

“Nick’s won—he’s won a championship,” she explained. “He’s gonna mix defenses. He’s a guy that kind of does whatever it takes to win and so, of course, you want a coach that’s got the players back and also with his junk defenses—that means you’re doing everything possible. You’re at least trying and showing it and he’s good at a lot of things. So, I think with the type of team we have, we just got to be able to fit in and jell.”

The Sixers will have their challenges in the upcoming season, but it’s obvious that they have the talent and it’s all about making it mesh together at this point.

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Daryl Morey takes to Instagram to welcome Paul George to Sixers

Daryl Morey takes to Instagram to welcome Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers as the deal is now official.

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey got his man. The front office guru of the Sixers prepared for this moment throughout the 2023-24 season with his eyes on luring Paul George away from the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Sixers are now in a great position to contend in the upcoming season. George joins a terrific duo in the form of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as Philadelphia now has one of the better trios in the league. The challenge now will be for those three to build chemistry and for the Sixers to build a viable roster around them.

Morey took to Instagram to post a picture of himself with George, GM Elton Brand, team governor Josh Harris, and franchise icon Julius “Dr. J” Erving.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9G7WYYtCH4/

The goal for Morey now is to build the roster. He has brought in Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Caleb Martin who are proven veterans. He also brought back Kelly Oubre Jr. who will play a role for the Sixers around the three stars.

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Daryl Morey takes to Twitter to welcome Caleb Martin to Sixers

President Daryl Morey takes to Twitter to welcome Caleb Martin to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers were able to land an important role player in free agency on Saturday with the addition of Caleb Martin. The veteran out of Nevada played his previous three seasons with the Miami Heat and was able to develop at a high rate.

In his three seasons with the Heat, Martin shot 36.8% from deep. He took his game to another level in the playoffs as he shot 42.3% from deep in the 2023 postseason in a run to the finals and then shot 44% from deep in the 2024 postseason.

He saved his best performances for the Boston Celtics which is a terrific sign for Philadelphia heading into the new season.

President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey took to Twitter, as he often does, to welcome Martin to the Sixers. He included a video of Martin scoring a career playoff-high 26 points against the Celtics in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.

The Sixers are continuing to build their roster. One has to like most of the moves Philadelphia has made thus far.

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Daryl Morey discusses a Jared McCain-Tyrese Maxey Sixers backcourt

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey discusses the possibility of a Jared McCain-Tyrese Maxey backcourt.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made a selection on Wednesday with the No. 16 pick. With that selection, the Sixers decided on Duke guard Jared McCain who President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey stated was the best player available at No. 16.

McCain certainly brings what the Sixers are looking for on the offensive end of the floor. He shot 41.4% from deep on 5.8 attempts per game and he is somebody who can lead the second unit or maybe even play with Tyrese Maxey in some lineups.

However, with both Maxey and McCain standing at 6-foot-3, it is also fair to wonder whether they will be able to work on the defensive end.

“I think that’s a valid concern,” Morey said on Wednesday night. “Obviously, your backcourt, in a perfect world, you’d have taller, but I think you have to compensate (for) that with strength. He’s got a strong frame — very strong. Good rebounder. We think he’ll be a solid defender in the league over time.”

To the rebounding point, McCain did average 5.0 rebounds in his freshman season with the Blue Devils. Despite his smaller stature, he was not afraid to battle in the paint and grab some big rebounds for his team.

Also, over time, he did improve as a defender by using his strength. While McCain can take on some of the defensive responsibility one-on-one, Maxey can play the passing lanes a bit.

“He was being targeted at Duke and as the season went on, he became someone that was actually one of their better defenders,” Morey acknowledged. “He’s got the attitude that coach (Nick) Nurse likes to bring, which is just get a little bit better every day. He’s got a 95th percentile approach to the game — teammate, work ethic. We’ve had some good luck with taking the kids with a real base of potential and a strong work ethic. We were really happy. I’m excited for Philadelphia to get to know him.”

On top of the defensive ability that he would be able to bring to the table, McCain and Maxey are volume shooters. Maxey shot 8.1 3-pointers per game in the 2023-24 season while McCain took 5.8 in college with both knocking them down at a high percentage. That type of production works in today’s NBA.

“He’s already putting up a high volume of 3s and being able to shoot 3s at a high volume and be in the high 30s, low 40s is maybe the most valuable skill in the NBA,” Morey added on McCain. “It’s on the list of the top few so that’s a big, big part of the calculus with Jared. 100%. Absolutely.”

Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see if McCain and Maxey will be able to play in the same backcourt for Philadelphia.

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Daryl Morey gives thoughts on NBA turning draft into a 2-day event

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey gives his thoughts on the NBA making the draft a two-day event.

CAMDEN, N.J. — For the first time in its history, the NBA turned the draft into a two-day event. Round 1 was on Wednesday and the Philadelphia 76ers selected Duke guard Jared McCain with the No. 16 overall selection.

The Sixers–and the rest of the NBA–now prepare for Round 2 of the draft which is set for Thursday at 4 p.m. EDT. Philadelphia will hold the No. 41 pick in the second round.

After selecting McCain on Wednesday, one has to wonder what the Sixers will do on day 2. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is happy that he has another day to get ready for Round 2 rather than going right into it, but it also won’t have an effect on anything he and the Sixers have planned for the rest of the offseason.

“I don’t think the draft is going to inform what we do in free agency very much,” Morey said. “So that’s pretty much how I do it and we do it, but yeah. It’ll be a quicker turnaround than normal. I love the second day.”

The fact that the Sixers and other teams now have more time to figure out what the plan will be for the second round is beneficial. Morey briefly went into the financial impact of having it on a second day.

“It’s amazing that in the past, there would be literally hundreds and millions of dollars in decisions made with back-to-back and two minutes on the clock,” he explained. “I mean, it’s a much better process for the league and a great change.”

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Paul George admits players talk as James Harden could affect Sixers chase

Paul George admits players talk as James Harden could affect the chase the Philadelphia 76ers will have on the star forward.

The Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes set on adding Paul George to their core of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as they have a ton of money to throw at him and lure him from Los Angeles.

However, a wrench may be thrown into that plan in the form of former Sixers star James Harden.

Everybody remembers the 2023 summer when Harden called out President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Harden, who previously had a great relationship with Morey when the two were with the Houston Rockets, called Morey a “liar” twice while on a tour in China. He was then traded to the Clippers early in the 2023-24 season.

Harden was, obviously, teammates with George during the season and as George enters free agency, PG-13 said on “Podcast P with Paul George” that players talk. He insinuated that Harden said something to him about Morey (h/t The Philadelphia Inquirer):

“Believe it or not, players talk. And then reputations go around, like, ‘Hey man, I don’t know about going to this place, because they … [shoot]. Watch your back, you know what I mean?’ That’s the conversations you have.”

This will be an interesting summer for the Sixers. Obviously, money talks and all of this could be moot, but it appears that Harden and George may have talked and that could hurt the Sixers in their chase for the All-Star forward. Especially, if Harden gave George a bad review of Morey after things soured in 2023.

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What are Sixers’ options if they don’t land big name in the offseason?

What are the options for the Philadelphia 76ers if they don’t land the big name in the 2024 offseason?

The Philadelphia 76ers will undoubtedly be one of the more active teams on the market in the 2024 offseason frenzy. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has put the team in a prime position to upgrade around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The Sixers are going to make a run at a lot of big names in the offseason. Paul George, Lauri Markkanen and Mikal Bridges, among others, should be at the top of Philadelphia’s wish list. The Sixers can acquire players either in free agency or through trades because they can bring in players and absorb their salaries without having to give up players to match salaries.

One has to believe that Morey will land somebody. Based on his track record, he always does. He always finds a way to bring in who he believes will help the team move forward. However, what happens if Philadelphia can’t land that big name for some reason?

Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports:

In the event Philadelphia is unable to land a big fish this summer, look for the Sixers to flush out their roster with similar non-guaranteed money as of the past season’s approach. Philadelphia, sources said, will prioritize being nimble with salaries in order to move whenever the next disgruntled star becomes available.

This would make the most sense if Morey and the Sixers can’t land who they want — a small chance — then try again either at the deadline or in the summer of 2025. Philadelphia can repeat the same transactional moves it made in the 2023-24 season: Bring in non-guaranteed salaries to create similar cap space for future moves.

Either way, the Sixers should land somebody in the 2024 offseason. George is a real possibility for Philadelphia, and the Sixers believe they can pry him away from LA. Philadelphia offers up max money and the chance to win a championship next to Embiid and Maxey.

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Predicting what Daryl Morey, Sixers will do with 2024 draft pick

It is time to predict what Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers should do with the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

The Philadelphia 76ers are entering an important offseason as they prepare to make upgrades around their star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to make a run in the Eastern Conference. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has put the team in a prime position to make a big move forward.

The Sixers have the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA draft and there are options there if Philadelphia decides to make the selection. Some believe Philadelphia should make the pick and build with young pieces around Embiid.

However, considering the Sixers are in a championship window right now, Morey has to consider trading the pick because that window can shut at any moment as the rest of the East moves forward.

When asked specifically about the draft, Morey had this to say at his end-of-season press conference:

“Immediate help probably never comes in the draft,” Morey said. “There’s really only something less than 10 but greater than five players picked in the range we’re picking in that are good in the first year. That said, we don’t really focus on the draft for help now. I do really love 16. The storylines have been that the draft is worse. I don’t see that at all. Actually, I’m very excited about who’s at 16. That said, as you might expect we have all options on the table: Trade into the future so that we can keep more picks available for future trades.”

With what Morey stated, it sounds like the Sixers will trade this pick. It makes sense to do so considering their current state and Morey’s tendency to move picks for win-now players. There are options for the Sixers such as Mikal Bridges, Lauri Markkanen and others who could be available for the right price.

While there are some options at 16 the Sixers should consider such as Devin Carter, Kel’el Ware, Kyle Filipowski, and others, those guys are not contributing to a title contender right away. Morey and the Sixers should look into moving the pick for a player who can help them win now while the window is still open.

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Sixers’ Daryl Morey gives thoughts on NBA’s 65-game rule for awards

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey gives his thoughts on the NBA’s new 65-game rule to qualify for awards at the end of the season.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The NBA introduced a rule for the 2023-24 season in an effort to get players to take the regular season more seriously. To qualify for end-of-season awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA teams among others, a player has to play in at least 65 games.

It felt like the rule was aimed at players such as Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who has an obvious injury history. The Sixers like to rest him in certain games to deliver a healthy Embiid to the playoffs. They know he is the one that will carry them to a title.

President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey gave his thoughts on the 65-game rule after the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

“Yeah, I understand why the league office did it,” said Morey. “I would put, and this is easy for me to say, I would try as the league office to put all the focus on how do we make the regular season more important, so we don’t have to create these, 65 is better than 64 kludge. So again, it’s easy to say when you’re at a distance.”

To Morey’s point, the number of 65 is a random number that the league came up with. The problem the league has is to figure out how to make the regular season matter. It isn’t going to come down to the 65-game rule for certain players.

“I’ve been pretty vocal, like, just do everything you can to make the regular season more meaningful,” Morey finished. “More, you know, the top two seeds get a bye. The good thing about the NBA is we innovate more than any other league. I think we’ll get there and this was sort of the kludge they had to do to try and like, create this dynamic, but it’s definitely a kludge we just need to make the regular season more and more important over time.”

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