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PHILADELPHIA -- One of the first moves Daryl Morey made as President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers was send Al Horford to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a multi-player deal that brought in Danny Green.
One of the particulars in that Horford deal was the Sixers sent the Thunder a 2025 draft pick that is top 6 protected. At the time of the deal, nobody was worried about the pick. However, that pick is now the current topic of conversation after Philadelphia ended a tumultuous 2024-25 season at 24-58.
The Sixers finished with the fifth-worst record in the league so they will have a 64% chance at keeping that pick when the lottery rolls around on May 12. Morey revisited that Horford deal with the Thunder and how teams attach draft picks in trades at this current moment.
"First off, I feel very good about that trade because it put us in a great spot," Morey said on Sunday. "It was before coach (Nick Nurse) was here, but we were the 1 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. Danny Green was great for us. Seth Curry was a different trade, but anyway, I feel good about that."
Morey makes a good point there. At the time of the deal, the addition of Green was fantastic, and grabbing Curry in a separate deal helped space the floor for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to maximize their talents. Unfortunately, at this moment in time after a disastrous season, there is a chance they don't keep their pick.
"I think it’s not just us," Morey added. "It’s, like, league-wide. There is sort of a shift in how firsts are sort of being held. Less traded, less protected. They’re only traded in bigger trades when it’s someone like a Paul George who’s moving teams or something like that so I think that’s shifting. That’s one reason why we made a trade of a first and the four seconds because we wanted the ability to upgrade the team next season by having sort of a bigger set of assets and things like that."
Obviously, the 2024-25 season was a big disappointment when considering the expectations and talent on this roster. Morey knows it. He doesn't know if he will have a draft pick in the toolbox to play with in the summer until the lottery, but he and Nurse are ready to help turn this thing around in the 2025-26 season.
"Coach and I are going to take a few days and take a step back, and we’ll look at front office, medical, strength and conditioning, coaching — literally everything," he added. "Coach Nurse and myself will be back, but we’re going to, with Elton Brand and ownership, assess everything and where we can get better. We owe that to the fans. We owe that to really everyone who cares so much about this team that stuck with us through this. And I want to thank the fans that have stuck with us. It is amazing, the support we get, even in a very tough season like this."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Daryl Morey addresses Al Horford trade in 2020, current pick status
Continue reading...
One of the particulars in that Horford deal was the Sixers sent the Thunder a 2025 draft pick that is top 6 protected. At the time of the deal, nobody was worried about the pick. However, that pick is now the current topic of conversation after Philadelphia ended a tumultuous 2024-25 season at 24-58.
The Sixers finished with the fifth-worst record in the league so they will have a 64% chance at keeping that pick when the lottery rolls around on May 12. Morey revisited that Horford deal with the Thunder and how teams attach draft picks in trades at this current moment.
"First off, I feel very good about that trade because it put us in a great spot," Morey said on Sunday. "It was before coach (Nick Nurse) was here, but we were the 1 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. Danny Green was great for us. Seth Curry was a different trade, but anyway, I feel good about that."
Morey makes a good point there. At the time of the deal, the addition of Green was fantastic, and grabbing Curry in a separate deal helped space the floor for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to maximize their talents. Unfortunately, at this moment in time after a disastrous season, there is a chance they don't keep their pick.
"I think it’s not just us," Morey added. "It’s, like, league-wide. There is sort of a shift in how firsts are sort of being held. Less traded, less protected. They’re only traded in bigger trades when it’s someone like a Paul George who’s moving teams or something like that so I think that’s shifting. That’s one reason why we made a trade of a first and the four seconds because we wanted the ability to upgrade the team next season by having sort of a bigger set of assets and things like that."
Obviously, the 2024-25 season was a big disappointment when considering the expectations and talent on this roster. Morey knows it. He doesn't know if he will have a draft pick in the toolbox to play with in the summer until the lottery, but he and Nurse are ready to help turn this thing around in the 2025-26 season.
"Coach and I are going to take a few days and take a step back, and we’ll look at front office, medical, strength and conditioning, coaching — literally everything," he added. "Coach Nurse and myself will be back, but we’re going to, with Elton Brand and ownership, assess everything and where we can get better. We owe that to the fans. We owe that to really everyone who cares so much about this team that stuck with us through this. And I want to thank the fans that have stuck with us. It is amazing, the support we get, even in a very tough season like this."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Daryl Morey addresses Al Horford trade in 2020, current pick status
Continue reading...
