Sixers news: Daryl Morey defends trade deadline moves; Joel Embiid carefully weighs in on trades; reaction and opinion

One factor complicating any deal at the trade deadline was Daryl Morey and the front office considered the team's core – Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and rookie VJ Edgecombe – "as close to untouchable players as you might have in this league."

"We really think it’s a very good core," Morey told reporters Friday. "Obviously we need to prove that on the court, and I think we think lately we have been proving it to a higher level."

Morey said at the trade deadline, the Sixers were focused on finding a player who could fill in for Paul, who is serving a 25-day suspension for violating the league's drug policy. But Morey didn't see any available players that could contribute more than Dominick Barlow has during Paul's absence.

The Sixers moved under the luxury tax by trading away Jared McCain and Eric Gordon, but Daryl Morey said that wasn't the primary reason behind the moves.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Morey said the team would've been willing to go above the luxury tax threshold – "We've done it several times" – but didn't see a deal or player that justified the numbers.

"For sure, if we had found a trade and were going to end up higher, we'd have ended up above it," Morey said.

Daryl Morey was pressed on why the Sixers traded Jared McCain without having another deal in place, rather than waiting until the offseason.

"I am quite confident we were selling high," Morey told reporters Friday. "Obviously, time will tell."

Morey said the Sixers weren't considering trading away McCain until teams approached with "aggressive offers," and that the draft picks will help the team down the road.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Daryl Morey, the Sixers' president of basketball operations, said he understands why fans might be disappointed the team didn't add any players at the trade deadline.

"I understand the reaction of the fans, but I feel like that comes from folks being excited about this team," Morey said. "That's why we had this reaction. And they should be excited."

Morey said the front office tried to make additions to improve the team using some of the draft picks landed in the Jared McCain trade, but "nothing materialized."

With three games left before the All-Star break, the Sixers are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, solidly in the playoff picture after missing the postseason last season.

Thursday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers certainly didn't help, breaking a five-game winning streak. They'll face the second-place New York Knicks on Wednesday, who added former New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado to their roster at the NBA trade deadline.

Eastern Conference standings

Daryl Morey, the Sixers' president of basketball operations, will speak to reporters Friday afternoon after the team made no additions at the NBA trade deadline, not even to fill in during Paul George's 25-game suspension.

Morey is scheduled to speak at noon at the Sixers' training facility in Camden, N.J.

On Thursday, the Sixers traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies in a salary dump. Wednesday they parted ways with Jared McCain, the 2024 No. 16 overall pick. In exchange, team landed a bunch of second-round picks and the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick.

LOS ANGELES — When asked to assess the 76ers’ approach and execution at the trade deadline, Joel Embiid kept his words politically correct.

But his multiple pauses to look to his right at a team public relations staffer observing his postgame media session — not out of nervousness, but as if this was the way he could make his desired point — spoke volumes.

“The only thing I’ll say, I believe in myself,” Embiid said late Thursday, after the Sixers dealt guards Jared McCain and Eric Gordon and did not add any players. “I believe in Tyrese [Maxey]. I believe in everybody in this locker room. But the main thing is I believe in myself.

The shaping of the 76ers took a step backward this week … perhaps just momentarily.

The team moved on from Jared McCain, a fan favorite and 2025 Rookie of the Year front-runner, and seldom-used veteran guard Eric Gordon before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Sixers acquired a first-round pick, three second-rounders, and a second-round pick swap.

Shedding those players’ salaries gives the Sixers just over $7.6 million in cap space under the first apron. That means they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in a trade exception to acquire a player.

Sixers president Daryl Morey is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday, so we’ll have to wait to hear the official defense of the team’s decision to trade 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain to the Thunder for what is most likely to be a low-value first round draft (plus the obligatory smattering of second round picks). We don’t have to wait to judge the optics of the thing.

The optics are poor, and will remain true even if the thing ends up making more sense than we can immediately glean.

The Sixers didn’t trade McCain for a player who is more likely to help them contend for championship, be it this year or beyond. They didn’t trade him for a pick that they then flipped for a player who can help them capitalize on their momentum this season. Everywhere else, teams got better, and many of them did so in ways beyond this season. The Timberwolves can re-sign Ayo Dosunmu. The Pacers can pair Ivica Zubac with Tyrese Haliburton next season. The Sixers can hope that a late first round pick is worth something in June.