Daryl Morey spent the 2024 offseason pushing all his chips into turning the Philadelphia 76ers into a championship contender. He added Paul George, Guerschon Yabusele, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson.
With a vast amount of veteran talent, and some elite star power, the Sixers were supposed to be primed for a deep postseason run. Instead, they sit 11th in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, questions surrounding the franchise’s current direction have begun to arise. As expected, the Sixers fanbase is growing frustrated.
During a recent appearance at the Sloan Sports Conference, Morey risked the ire of Sixers fans. He suggested that anger is all that drives the fanbase. His comments came when discussing the team’s recent postseason losses.
“We lost to a Knicks team that was not as good as the Celtics team we lost to the year before. I was very down after the loss,” Morey said. “I was like, ‘man, people are going to be so angry.’ And, they were angry, obviously, everyone wants us to win. But they were less angry than the year before (vs Knicks) than the year before [vs Celtics], and anger is all that drives Sixers fans.”
Morey’s comments won’t do him any favors with the Sixers fanbase. He’s already walking a fine line due to the consistent mis-steps in roster construction.
Sixers Must Improve Their Front Court
Regardless of whether Morey remains in the Sixers front office throughout the summer or not, it’s clear they must make some changes. According to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Philadelphia has to improve its front court if it wants to bounce back strong next season.
“Although depth wasn’t the primary reason for Philadelphia’s failure, it disappointed nonetheless,” Pelton wrote on March 2. “Backup centers Andre Drummond and Adem Bona haven’t provided the cover the 76ers expected behind Embiid, and Caleb Martin wasn’t the strong role player Philadelphia expected. As a result, the Sixers have given more than 3,500 minutes to players my metric rates below replacement level this season, the league’s eighth-highest total.”
For the most part, this year’s roster has been a let down. Of course, Tyrese Maxey and Yabusele have been bright spots. Nevertheless, there needs to be somewhat of a re-tooling process in order to get the Sixers back on track.
Paul George Has Put Podcast on Hold
During a Feb. 24 episode of his ‘Podcast P With Paul George’ podcast, the All-Star forward announced he has put his show on hiatus. George has taken a step back from recording in order to focus on helping the Sixers make the postseason.
“It’s no secret this season is up to this point, man,” George said. “It hasn’t been what we envision…With that being said, though, I want to let the Podcast P family know that after today’s episode with Dwight (Howard), I plan to take a break from the pod to focus on getting my body right, getting mentally right and help this squad make a push towards our goal. To finish the season, I’ll give ourselves a chance to be in contention to compete for a championship.”
A recent groin strain has sidelined George. No timeline for his return to the rotation has been set. Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that he will be able to provide the boost Philadelphia needs. Even with George in the rotation, the Sixers will likely be an early exit from the playoffs. Therefore, Morey will have multiple questions that need answering in the summer. His recent comments have done him no favors.
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