CAMDEN, N.J. — Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid made a public plea before the trade deadline asking the team to improve and add some more pieces. The Sixers have been in a revival as Embiid has been playing at an extremely high level, Tyrese Maxey has taken another step, the supporting cast has played well, and Paul George will be a big help when he returns from suspension.
President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, instead, decided to move young guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for picks and Eric Gordon for a future second-round swap. Not exactly the big moves Embiid was hoping for at the deadline. The big fella gave his reaction to the inactivity at the deadline after Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“With all of our top players, we update them throughout — both the moves and some of the potential opportunities out there,” Morey said on Friday. “I think we all wanted to add to the team and I took his comments to heart. I feel like myself, and the front office, we’re stewards of the team, and we’re here to make the team better. I think we’ve done a lot of good things to get the team in this situation. But for this deadline, I understand the reaction that we didn’t add.”
The reaction isn’t great. The Sixers didn’t add any pieces while other teams in the East loaded up. The Cleveland Cavaliers added James Harden. The Boston Celtics added Nikola Vucevic. The New York Knicks grabbed Jose Alvarado. The Detroit Pistons added another shooter in Kevin Huerter.
Yes, the Sixers are still a talented bunch, and Morey is leaning on that, but it’s a questionable move.
“I feel like if folks were excited about the team before, the same group that they were excited about before is going out there — obviously, save Jared,” Morey added. “But we feel like with (Trendon) Watford and other guys stepping up, we can not miss a beat with the players we have on the roster.”
Regardless of how Morey feels about the deadline, the Sixers have a perception at the moment that all they want to do is get below the luxury tax. Embiid pointed that out in his public plea to add to the roster. Morey knows that, and he’s hoping to eliminate that in the future, and go into the tax as well as the two aprons in the CBA, but there weren’t any deals–in his eyes–that were worth going to battle with ownership.
“I understand the perception,” Morey added. “I hope to defeat it by finding a deal that I can go to ownership and say, ‘We think this move is the right move to do for that and create those apron issues’, but I haven’t been able to recommend that move yet.”
Despite not making any moves, and the aforementioned teams loading up, Morey is confident that Embiid and Co. can compete in the East.
“We like our chances in the East,” Morey finished. “We feel like we’re in the mix with the top teams there. Obviously, we’ve got to prove that on the court, but, just reiterating, we were looking to add and we didn’t add. We still believe in this team. Folks have speculated on the improvements of our East competitors. I don’t see it, personally. I think all the teams made moves at the deadline, but there weren’t any needle movers, in my opinion.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers’ Daryl Morey talks Joel Embiid’s public plea to add at deadline
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