Did Daryl Morey really fix the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation?

The Philadelphia 76ers made a lot of changes in the span of a week. But do the changes really fit together and solve the underlying problems on this roster?

Daryl Morey’s autumn has been nothing short of organized chaos. From leaving the Houston Rockets’ imploding organization, to immediately being courted by Josh Harris and David Blitzer to run the Philadelphia 76ers, to then participating in the same whirlwind offseason that every other team took part in, Morey has been in hyperdrive for a good six weeks.

He wasted no time getting off Al Horford‘s contract, only sacrificing a protected first-rounder in 2025 and the 34th overall pick in this year’s draft. The return wasn’t bad either; Danny Green is a good fit with the starting lineup as a shooter and wing defender, and Terrance Ferguson is at worst a solid salary to match in future trades — and at best a 3-and-D wing like Green.

That was before the draft even kicked off. Once the clock started, the picks went in a way that let Tyrese Maxey fall to the Sixers at No. 21. Guards who can dribble, score and pass have been few and far between in Philly, and poaching a great talent with that skill-set at No. 21 adds exponentially more value to the team.

Morey used his next pick before the second round even began, sending No. 36 and Josh Richardson to the Dallas Mavericks for Seth Curry. Doc Rivers‘ son-in-law is one of the best shooters in the league, a career 44.3 percent 3-point sniper who isn’t afraid to fire away. Richardson is the superior player and talent, but Curry’s fit is much more valuable with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

Philly’s last two selections were Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed, two value picks who bring vastly different strengths to the table. Joe, one of the best shooters in the draft, averaged 9.1 3-point attempts per game over two years at Arkansas and canned 37.8 percent of them. Reed was a “stock” machine at DePaul, averaging 1.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game last season. Both are specialists, but their fortes are quite valuable.

Free agency saw more of an investment in the frontcourt. The first night of free agency didn’t produce fireworks in Philadelphia, but Dwight Howard on a one-year minimum deal was a solid get for a team in need of a backup center. The Sixers also traded for Tony Bradley, an old-school 5 who played okay minutes for the Utah Jazz behind Rudy Gobert. After spending $28 million on a backup center last season, Philly will pay just over $5 million for its bench bigs this year.

The Sixers also signed four very cheap gents: Dakota Mathias, who will sign a two-way deal, Ryan Broekhoff and Derrick Walton Jr., whose salaries are not guaranteed, and old friend Justin Anderson, who got a two-year deal with partial guarantees in year one. Marial Shayok and Norvel Pelle were waived to make room for these additions.

What do the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation actually look like this year?

These signings bring the roster to a total of 18 players: 14 on the big-league roster, Mathias on a two-way, Reed likely on the second two-way, and Anderson, Broekhoff and Walton fighting for spot No. 15.

In terms of who will actually get minutes, there’s a typical pattern with Doc Rivers’ rotations. In his last five seasons with the LA Clippers, exactly nine players eclipsed 1,000 minutes each year. So let’s assume he has his rock-solid nine to start the season, with the 10th and 11th men filling in spot minutes.

The starting lineup should be Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid. This provides as much shooting as possible around Simmons and Embiid without sacrificing defense. Simmons, shooters and Embiid has proven to be a damn good formula.

That unit’s similarities to the 2017-18 starting lineup are real. The triumvirate of Curry, Green and Harris is akin to J.J. Redick, Robert Covington and Dario Saric if you squint hard enough. The opening troupe should have little issue generating points with shooters around Simmons and Embiid, and those two should be enough to propel the defense back to elite status.

Starting and closing lineups are most-often discussed, but what’s arguably more important is how the rotation works throughout the course of a game. Having a bunch of useful players is one thing, but putting them in the best combinations to succeed is another.

Simmons and Embiid aren’t exactly John Stockton and Karl Malone, so Brett Brown’s old plan of staggering them makes sense. Having one pillar on the court at all times maximizes each player’s strengths.

This essentially creates three lineups for the Sixers over the course of a game:

1. The starting lineup
2. Quintets with Embiid but without Simmons
3. Those with Simmons but without Embiid

In Lineup 2, some semblance of playmaking is needed in the absence of Simmons. That’s where Shake Milton comes in. Milton and Embiid were paired together quite a bit last season, and it mostly worked, so there’s no reason to deviate from that now. Milton is a bit stale as a lead playmaker, but the Sixers don’t have a better option for the backup 1 role right now.

Just like how J.J. Redick was handcuffed to Embiid’s minutes back in the day, it also makes sense for Curry to be tied to Embiid. It would be fun to see Curry out in transition with Simmons more often, but it’s easier to hide Curry on defense when Embiid is out there. They can recreate the two-man game that Embiid had with Redick.

Simmons-less squadrons have a defensive weakness, specifically with guarding those 3/4 bodies mentioned earlier. Tobias Harris is the next best option for that assignment, and he can also make Milton’s playmaking duties a little easier.

Lineup 3 is where Howard and Bradley are vital. Neither is a regular shooting threat at this stage, which is a concern for spacing around Simmons, but their defensive fortitude could outweigh that. One weakness of the Simmons-Horford lineups last season was that Brett Brown insisted on a drop coverage, which nullified some of Horford’s strengths as a versatile defender. With Howard or Bradley as the backup 5, drop coverage is a necessity, and the bench defense should be better off.

This unit will provide him with superior guard play as well. Richardson’s departure leaves a hole with defending the point of attack, a part that Simmons can play in a pinch, but should not do full-time. Maxey takes care of that pretty early on, as his defensive tenacity should translate right away. Offensively he fits on the ball as a scorer and creator, and off the ball he makes sense as a cutter, closeout attacker and occasional catch-and-shoot guy (once the jumper gets refined).

Green conforms to any lineup well with his plus shooting and defense. To make the talent more balanced between Lineups 2 and 3, it makes sense to slot him in at the 3. He’ll be a great kick-out option for Simmons in transition, and he’s a great relocator off the ball in the half-court. Defensively they make a great duo as well, as their combined switchability can wrap up practically the entire league.

• Lineup 1: Simmons, Curry, Green, Harris, Embiid
• Lineup 2: Milton, Curry, Harris, Embiid
• Lineup 3: Maxey, Green, Simmons, Howard

That’s eight. The ninth spot should go to Matisse Thybulle, a game-changer on defense who might end up getting the most minutes of any backup. His fit with Simmons in Lineup 3 is obvious in transition, but he also might be needed in Lineup 2 for perimeter defense. The expectation here is that Thybulle fits in wherever the matchup dictates he should.

In terms of the 10th and 11th men, Furkan Korkmaz should be a lock for one of those spots with his dynamic shooting and sneaky ball creation. Like Thybulle, he can fit into either lineup and bring different advantages to each.

The last spot will almost always be matchup-dependent. Mike Scott is a known quantity and potential stretch-5 option next to Simmons, but he’s also mostly a one-position defender at the 4. Ferguson provides solid wing defense, but his shooting is too variable to lock him in at the moment. Joe’s fit is obvious as a shooter, though he may not be ready for the physicality of the NBA yet. Bradley will at least get minutes when Howard starts, but his minutes will be pretty sparse otherwise. As for the winner of the “quiet tournament” between Anderson, Broekhoff and Walton … he should be a victory cigar and no more.

That rounds out the rotation for now. Trades can (and knowing Morey, will) be made, likely to fill the holes mentioned above rather than double down on existing strengths. A real point guard, a stretch-big and another two-way wing would be useful for Philly’s championship pursuits.

For now, the roster looks cleaner and deeper than it has in quite some time.