Sports
NBA Rumors: Morey 'Covertly Hoping for' 76ers Rebuild amid Harden, Embiid Trade Buzz – Bleacher Report
The Philadelphia 76ers entered last season with championship expectations and could once again be among the Eastern Conference’s best teams in 2023-24 depending on how the James Harden situation unfolds, but president of basketball operations Daryl Morey reportedly wouldn’t mind something of a reset.
According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, “Morey is covertly hoping for” the opportunity to rebuild. That is particularly notable because Goodwill noted there are “many around the league” who think Joel Embiid will eventually ask to be moved from the 76ers, which would likely trigger such a rebuild.
Everything likely hinges on Embiid.
While Harden is still a formidable player who led the league at 10.7 assists per game last season, he is also under contract for just one more season after exercising his player option this summer and has made it crystal clear he isn’t interested in being with the 76ers for the long-term future.
Yet Philadelphia could still compete with Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and potentially another addition or two for years to come if the reigning MVP opts to remain with the 76ers instead of asking out.
A long-term rebuilding project may also be the last thing 76ers fans are interested in after undergoing arguably the most famous rebuilding effort in NBA history with the Process. That period landed the team Embiid, but Philadelphia still hasn’t made it past the second-round of the playoffs since Allen Iverson was stepping over Tyronn Lue in the 2001 NBA Finals.
But Morey reportedly is interested in getting the opportunity to conduct a rebuild of his own with the 76ers since he wasn’t with the team during those Process years.
Goodwill reported he is more interested in future first-round picks than Terance Mann if he did trade Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, which would make sense in such a rebuilding project. Those picks could be quite valuable down the line too if Los Angeles falls down the standings in future years after pursuing a championship with veteran players in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden.
For now, the Harden situation hovers over the entire 76ers organization.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported Saturday that the league is investigating the “circumstances” after the guard’s “public admonishment” of Morey to determine “whether Harden was portending a 2023-24 holdout in violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement or had been referencing past contract discussions with the organization that might constitute salary cap circumvention.”
Philadelphia will be under the NBA spotlight as it attempts to figure out Harden’s desire to be moved, Embiid’s potentially shaky future and perhaps a rebuild down the line. But it seems like Morey wouldn’t be too broken up by the chance to reset the franchise and head toward the next chapter.
