The Morning Call

Morey wastes little time to make his 1st impression

- By Tom Moore

Welcome to Philadelph­ia, Daryl Morey.

Only 2 ½ weeks into his tenure as 76ers vice president of basketball operations, Morey announced there is a new sheriff in town on a wild Wednesday in which he traded two 201920 Sixers regulars for an elite shooter (Seth Curry) and a quality two-way wing (Danny Green), made three draft picks — two of whomare regarded as shooters — and dealt a pair of second-round selections as part of the pair of aforementi­oned swaps.

Morey’s first big move was addressing an ill-advised July 2019 signing by trading veteran big manAl Horford, a future firstround pick, a second-rounder (No. 34 this year) and the rights to highly regarded Serbian point guard Vasilije Micic to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Green and swingman Terrance Ferguson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowsk­i.

Horford doesn’t fit the style DocRivers wants to play and now the remaining $69 million over the next three years that would have gone to a backup center is off the Sixers’ books with Green, whoplayed on the last two league championsh­ip teams, the frontrunne­r to start at shooting guard.

Then Morey swapped Josh Richardson, who was the team’s 2019-20 starter at shooting guard, and the No. 36 pick to the Dallas Mavericks for shooting guard Seth Curry. Curry is a terrific perimeter shooter, hitting a career-best 45.2% of his 3-pointers last season. His presence should really benefit stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons after the impact JJ Redick’s absence clearly had in the halfcourt offense last season.

“Having a truly elite shooter really changes the dynamic for Ben and Joel,” said Morey during an early-morning Zoom call. “You can argue for Seth as the best shooter in the NBA.”

At No. 21, Morey, general manager Elton Brand and staff selected Kentucky combo guard Tyrese Maxey before grabbing Arkansas shooter Isaiah Joe at No. 49 and DePaul power forward Paul Reed with the 58th pick.

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