After another disappointing season, Daryl Morey was asked about changes to the Sixers’ roster for the summer and which players will stay.
Morey, the team president of basketball operations, mentioned they are looking for role players instead of another high-salary star. “We’re definitely looking at fit,” he said.
“We’re excited about Tyrese [Maxey]… We’re not focused on whether it’s a max player or a role player,” Morey continued. “We want the best players within our budget.”
Free Agency Targets
Considering their budget constraints, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, and Nico Batum seem like good candidates to re-sign. They played well with Maxey and Embiid and might not demand too much money.
“You’re coming back to the Sixers,” Embiid told Nico during an interview after their loss to the Knicks in Game 6.
The Sixers have around $65 million available in free agency plus picks No. 16 and No. 41 in the upcoming NBA draft.
Oubre expressed his desires for this summer: “I just want to be loved for me… I represent myself right now. At the end of the day, I wanna go somewhere where they respect and love me.”
Morey’s Challenge
Morey loves finding overlooked players like Oubre Jr. and Lowry who were bargains last season. He enjoys building around their three max salary stars by adding valuable role players.
“In those situations, I like having the challenge,” Morey shared. “To me, finding guys that are overlooked is exciting.”
Even though Kyle is now 38 years old, he plans to compete in his 19th NBA season starting in October.
“I think history shows that even with new rules, you get your stars first,” Morey explained. “Then it’s up to us in the front office to find fitting players around them.”
