LAS VEGAS – On Friday morning at the Sixers' team hotel, an informal gathering turned into a more serious one. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey opened the floor for questions, and the media members present naturally had plenty of inquiries.
There was a whole lot said over the next half hour. Morey fielded questions on key players undergoing injury rehab, the team's stalemate with its outstanding high-profile free agent, the fan favorite whose departure was caused by that stalemate, the team's two draft picks, a slew of young frontcourt additions and a ton more.
A full transcript of Morey's 30-minute media availability ishere.
Whether you read that transcript on Friday or would rather just read about the headliners, this is for you. The most important notes and takeaways from Morey's latest availability:
Quentin Grimes' ongoing restricted free agency
Morey referred to an eventual solution with Grimes as the last piece of business the Sixers needed to get settled this summer. He was not willing to divulge many details about the team's ongoing negotiations with Grimes, other than... negotiations remain ongoing.
"We hope to work things out," Morey said. "I don't have more detail."
The impasse the Sixers and Grimes have reached is not uncommon, nor is it singular as things stand right now. Across the league, three other high-profile restricted free agents – Jonathan Kuminga of Golden State, Josh Giddey of Chicago and Cam Thomas of Brooklyn – are unsigned. There is just not money out there for them when their incumbent teams have the right to match any offer sheet they ink with another team.
"I think the structure of it makes it challenging," Morey said of negotiating with restricted free agents. "I think it's part of the rules that have been set out by the CBA. It definitely makes things challenging for both sides."
The reality is that Grimes is the one facing more significant challenges than the Sixers, who retain the right to match any offer sheet he signs in a market that was barren to begin with and is only growing more desolate. However, the lack of definitive certainty about Grimes' 2025-26 salary did force the Sixers into a disadvantageous position with their other priority free agent, Guerschon Yabusele.
Yabusele signed with the New York Knicks for close to the full taxpayer's mid-level exception. The Sixers technically have that resource at their disposal as well, but felt that using it – and incurring a hard cap at the second apron – would create too much of a risk that Grimes could command an offer sheet they would not be capable of matching. Morey confirmed, as PhillyVoice reported when news broke of Yabusele's departure, that the order of operations required was just not going to allow them to make an offer to Yabusele that was competitive enough.
"Yeah, that sucked," Morey said. "Again, we got several questions on restricted free agency, I do think that overall structure played into that. We offered [Yabusele] the most we could that wouldn't limit us and our ability to retain Quentin. That was above minimum. I've seen reports saying that, that wasn't [true], but it was definitely below what he ended up getting. I think people have said that created a challenge for us, and it's true. So we want to retain Quentin. We hope to work that out with his representation, and our focus was on making sure that happens. That did impact what we could offer Guerschon."
Health updates, from Joel Embiid to Jared McCain
Morey's updates on Embiid and McCain were extraordinarily similar. Both players are "on track" to be ready for training camp, he said, as each player works his way back from a season-ending surgery in their left knee.
Of course, Morey's brief comments will not do much to encourage optimism in Philadelphia about the state of Embiid's knee. The team never issued a formal update on Embiid's condition following his arthroscopic procedure in April despite saying that it came with a six-week timeline for a reevaluation. Morey said last month that "things are on track to be ready right around there" when asked about Embiid's availability for training camp, which will begin well over five months after his procedure.
Meanwhile, there is not as much cause for concern publicly regarding McCain, as a long while has passed since the team's 2024 first-round pick underwent a meniscus repair in December. The repair is the much more significant of the two possible meniscus treatments, and with a lengthy offseason the Sixers have understandably felt no urge to push McCain. He is in Las Vegas and has accompanied the Summer Sixers in practices while doing limited individual on-court work.
Another injury-related note: asked about how Adem Bona figures into next year's rotation, Morey volunteered a comment that veteran center Andre Drummond was "putting in the work to be back next season" and was worth factoring into any conversation about the team's backup center spot. Drummond was struggling early in the season, but he suffered a toe injury on Dec. 23 that derailed the remainder of his season.
Adding young frontcourt players in bulk
As much as Morey would probably like to forget about the misery of the 2024-25 season, part of his job is to evaluate what happened and figure out how to prevent a sequel.
“I'd say there's a lot more dissecting and processing, figuring out what you can learn," Morey said. "Had a lot of good questions... on takeaways from different playoff teams and things like that. I do think those are the right questions. I think the great thing about basketball is anytime you feel like, ‘Oh, it's just going to be this way,' it's a dynamic game.
"Defenses shift, offenses shift, how you play, the rules change, what's a foul and what isn't a foul, all of those things. I think that's what makes the job interesting. I think it's always a learning process, so I think flushing isn't usually the right thing."
One lesson Morey learned and is hoping to use to his benefit this time around, he said: the importance of accumulating as much frontcourt depth as possible.
"I think one thing to speak about learnings from last season was that when we had our key players out – Joel, primarily – that really challenged our depth at the big spot," Morey said. "So we went into this offseason really prioritizing getting some really good young players, and our best tool to do that was the two-way."
If retaining Grimes is the Sixers' final move of the summer, their penultimate move will have been signing Dominick Barlow to a two-way contract. Barlow has three years of NBA experience, and Morey believes he is a viable option at the five.
Fellow two-way signing Jabari Walker is not a center, but can play either forward position credibly. Walker has played 166 NBA games, and Morey added his name to a long list of folks to express shock that he was available on a two-way deal. However, Morey believes the organization's history of providing two-way players with pathways to standard contracts has enabled them to assemble such a valued crop of players on two-way deals.
"I think being able to get Jabari and Dominick, and say, ‘Hey, we really think you’ll have a role even though it’s a two-way,’ I think that’s an edge," Morey said, "and we were thrilled they chose to join us."
Morey's strategy, it appears, is adding as many younger bodies with upward mobility as possible in the frontcourt. (The team's two older veterans returning on veteran's minimum deals, Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry, are guards likely not in line for consistent minutes.)
Another product of that mentality: a two-year minimum deal for Trendon Watford, whose defensive versatility Morey touted in addition to his unique ball-handling and playmaking chops at 6-foot-9.
"We felt like just in general we needed to get players in Jabari and Barlow – I’m just going through our later positions – and then Trendon are all sort of part of this sort of push to get younger and more versatile," Morey said. "Trendon can guard multiple positions and he’s fairly unique in his ability to handle the pass, which I do think across the roster that’s a skill that we felt like we needed."
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