Daryl Morey likes the Sixers’ chances in the East, but he understands skepticism around the Jared McCain trade

The NBA trade deadline sparked movement among Eastern Conference contenders.

James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nikola Vučević landed with the Boston Celtics. The Detroit Pistons added Kevin Huerter and Dario Šarić. And the New York Knicks acquired Jose Alvarado.

All these moves were made to bolster those teams’ championship chances.

Anyone expecting to see the sixth-seeded 76ers do the same were let down. In fact, star center Joel Embiid might have been among them after he expressed hope that the front office would avoid “ducking the tax” and instead focus on strengthening the roster to compete.

Still, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey didn’t make any deals that netted a player. Instead, they traded Jared McCain and Eric Gordon in exchange for draft picks in what was viewed as an avenue to get under the luxury tax threshold for the fourth consecutive season.

» READ MORE: The Sixers trading Jared McCain will either be a head-scratcher or an embarrassment

Morey spoke on Friday as if he wasn’t the least bit concerned about the rest of the conference’s attempts to improve on the margins.

“We like our chances in the East,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the mix with the top teams there. Obviously, we’ve got to prove that on the court. But, just reiterating, we were looking to add, and we didn’t add. But we still believe in this team. … Folks have speculated on the improvements of our East competitors. I don’t see it, personally. I think all the teams made moves at the deadline, but there weren’t any needle-movers, in my opinion.”

Pressed about his no “needle-movers” comment, Morey was reminded that Harden’s migration to Cleveland from the Los Angeles Clippers is regarded as a blockbuster deal. Does he believe that the Cavaliers trading for Harden, who is familiar with from stints together with the Sixer Houston Rockets, doesn’t move the needle?

“I don’t want to talk about specific teams,” Morey said. “I’m just saying, I mean, objectively, teams in the East, the array is similar. Like, if you were to look at teams’ chances before and after — that’s my opinion. I think people can have differences of opinion.”

That said, Morey understands the disappointment among Sixers fans who have witnessed him make moves to duck below the tax threshold for several years at the trade deadline. This gives the impression that saving money for managing partner Josh Harris is more critical than contending for a title. The team comes off looking cheap, especially as Embiid’s championship window continues to shrink.

“I’d say we were trying to add to the team and we didn’t find a deal that made sense that we thought could move the needle on our ability to win this year,” he said. “The CBA pressures were felt up and down the league.”

Morey said the Sixers traded Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday in exchange for a 2032 second-round pick swap to create space to convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

According to Spotrac, the team is now $1.7 million below the tax level. The Sixers also have $3.9 million in cap space under the first apron. Morey said that because of the first apron, they had to move to create that opportunity for Barlow.

“But that wasn’t the primary reason for the Jared deal,” he said. “We see Jared as somebody that’s more likely to help a team in the future.”

Yet the Sixers shipped him to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-round selections. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

In June, Morey expressed confidence in the Sixers’ deep and versatile backcourt rotation of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and McCain. He likened it to the guard-heavy style used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to reach last season’s NBA Finals.

McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation.

Did the Sixers lose faith in the second-year guard?

“I wouldn’t say that. No,” Morey said. “I think he has a tremendous future. Sort of the whole thing with people who don’t like the deal is they’ll leave off the return, minimize this draft, which we think is good, and things like that. … That return is for a starter-quality player on a good team. It’s actually above that. We do a lot of analysis on how we think things will play out both here and around the league going forward, in terms of the quality of play. What kinds of returns will there be for what players in the future?

“And the bottom line is, Jared is a player who’s a great future bet and a potential great player. We wish him luck. We feel that this returns sets us up better to set up the team in the future.”

» READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

While it’s not a primary focus, the Sixers think the first-round pick can be used to make moves around the upcoming draft. Morey also believes they can use the three second-rounders to move up the draft.

But that doesn’t address the team’s needs for the remainder of the season. They offered the picks they received from OKC to other teams.

“Nothing materialized for a player that we thought could move the needle with those picks now,” Morey said. “But we feel like going forward, those picks will help us build the team in the future in a good way.”

While Morey mentioned that he had authorization to go over the tax, this was the fourth straight year that the Sixers made moves to get under the luxury tax, even after Embiid’s comments.

“I understand the perception,” Morey said. “I hope to defeat it by finding a deal that I can go to ownership and say, ‘We think this move is the right move to do for that and create those apron issues.’ But I haven’t been able to recommend that move yet.”

At this moment, however, Morey wants to talk about the solid players that the Sixers currently have on the roster.

He’ll remind you that Embiid is rounding into form. Morey will mention that Maxey took a leap to becoming an All-Star starter. And he’ll tell you that Kelly Oubre Jr. is playing the best basketball of his career.

“We love the bigs we have with Joel, [Andre Drummond and Adem] Bona,“ he said. ”We feel like guys are contributing up and down the roster. Coach [Nick] Nurse has done a tremendous job putting us in with the top few teams in the East in terms of how we’re playing. So that’s why we understand the fan reaction. Obviously, the big move was with Jared. Because we’re playing well, we were trying to upgrade the team and add to the team now. That was goal No 1.”