Fansided

Daryl Morey admits he doesn't regret one of his biggest mistakes with the 76ers

His time with the Philadelphia 76ers has been more dramatic than successful.
ByMat Rutkowski|
Dec 15, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers resident of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media before a game against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers resident of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media before a game against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

In 2020, Daryl Morey was faced with a problem. Al Horford had signed a $97 million, four-year contract that was not playing out. Al Horford’s time in the league appeared over, and since Philadelphia was looking to contend for a championship as soon as possible, they needed those millions free to spend on players who would actually help.

It was a good career for Al. He was a massive contributor to a championship four years later. I don’t think Philadelphia forgot that.

But to get off that contract, on draft night 2020, Daryl Morey sent Al Horford, a first-round pick in 2025, and some other stuff over to Oklahoma City for Danny Green and some other stuff.

Fast forward to this year. The Philadelphia 76ers, despite having championship aspirations before the season, are in the lottery, clinging to the hope of retaining their pick.

How does Daryl Morey feel about this?

Keith Pompey quotes Daryl Morey in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"“First off, I feel very good about that trade because it put us in a great spot,” Morey said of the 2020-21 season. “It was before coach [Nick Nurse] was here, but we were the one-seed going into the playoffs. Usually, that gives you a 40-50% chance to make the finals. So I feel good that we got good value out of that trade.”"
Keith Pompey

Okay.

To be fair to Morey, this is about as worst-case a scenario you can imagine for the team heading into the lottery. Not being a top-end playoff team was already a failure. Now, with your team showing real gaps in assembly, you might lose a quick and cheap way to plug those holes while also building toward the future. They weren’t supposed to be here. No one predicted them to be here.

But here they are.

Who knows, it might be okay. If the lottery falls favorably, we can forget about all this entirely. As Pompey wrote, “Not only do the Sixers have a 63.9 percent chance of keeping their pick, they have 10.5 percent chance of winning the lottery.” If that does happen, all is well.

Something going right for the 76ers would be nice. They’re not the only franchise in hell right now, but they’re going through it about as bad as anyone outside of Dallas. OKC doesn’t need another lottery pick.

But they might get one anyway. I don’t make the rules.

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