Morey plans to build on a ‘good foundation’

The Sixers produced the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, had an MVP finalist, won a playoff series and were in Game 7 of the second round.

That didn’t qualify them for a championship parade.

As for a modest victory lap, well, team president Daryl Morey would not be opposed to a quiet jog.

“Really 25 or 26 teams in this league would love to be in our situation,” the Sixers’ president said Tuesday, “with an MVP-caliber top player, an All-Star, a near-All-Star, some great young players who are signed for the longterm and some good veterans.”

Thus continued the Sixers’ three-day massaging of what bordered on basketball disaster, an early dismissal of a top seed that included three home-court losses

in one best-of-seven series.

Twice since Sunday, Doc Rivers moved to measure the season not against expectations but against the first-round sweep from the first-round of the 2020 playoffs. By Tuesday, when he held his end-of-season press conference, Morey was determined to support the core group that had just disappointed.

“We’re committed to this group,” he said. “This is really a good group that played at a very high level.”

While the Sixers did play .681 regular-season basketball, the organization is perceived to be in a rough spot. Ben Simmons, who could not find an opportunity to take a shot in any one of the last four fourth quarters, has four years remaining on a $170,000,000 contract. The Sixers are locked into a $180,000,000 deal for Tobias Harris, superstar money for a player who has never been an AllStar. Joel Embiid has a torn meniscus. Danny Green is a free agent. The bench was overwhelmed in the playoffs. And the fans were last heard booing.

“I didn’t choose to come and Doc didn’t choose to come here because it was a bad situation,” Morey said. “We’ve got a good foundation. We just have to do better. I have to do better. Everybody has to do better. That’s the bottom line. That’s the challenge.”

Morey indicated that he would be alert for potential veteran free agents, and that he would look to be aggressive in the July 29 draft. The Sixers own the No. 28 overall pick.

“I believe in our scouting staff,” he said. “I believe in our coaches’ abilities to develop these players and put them in good roles. It’s a pretty deep draft, if we keep the pick. Frankly, I am someone who likes to move up or move down and optimize the draft. But if we stay with the pick, I feel good about the players that would be available to us.”

While Morey was careful to tout the splendors of his marquee players, he was non-committal when asked directly whether Simmons would be a 76er in 20212022.

“I would say we have a very strong group we believe in,” he said. “There’s none of us who can predict the future of what’s going to happen in any place.”

That hedge was an indication of where Morey, known as an aggressive GM in Houston, could look to improve.

“We need to be a better offensive team,” he said. “It’s a little raw, but if you replay that Game 7, you know that if we execute better, we win. But that’s the reality. We didn’t do it. And frankly if we’re squeaking by the second round, then it tells me we’re unfortunately not good enough to win the title.

“So we need to get better.” Morey, who has been in charge less than a calendar year, will have that opportunity.

“I can tell everyone in Philadelphia that there will be a ton of effort, up and down, from myself, to the front office, to the coaching staff, he said. “And the players are being challenged as we speak, to get better as well.”

Until then, there will be a 2020-2021 season that did yield the Sixers a positive or two.

“But, you know,” Morey said. “That last game and that series is still incredibly painful.”