Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey isn’t afraid to look back at past moves he’s made with a critical eye. Next week, Morey’s Sixers could lose their first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft if they have some lottery luck go against them. Still Morey doesn’t regret moving that top-six protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder to get off Al Horford’s contract in 2020.
“First off, I feel very good about that trade because it put us in a great spot,” Morey said. “It was before coach [Nick Nurse] was here, but we were the one-seed going into the playoffs. Usually, that gives you a 40-50% chance to make the finals. So I feel good that we got good value out of that trade. Danny Green was great for us. Seth Curry was [acquired in] a different trade. But anyway, I feel good about that.”
If the pick doesn’t convey this year, it will roll over to 2026 with a top-four protection. The same conditions will exist in 2027. If the pick remains unconveyed then, the Sixers will convey a second-round pick to the Thunder in 2027.
Morey is also excited about having re-acquired his team’s second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Philadelphia re-acquired that selection in the deal where they swapped Caleb Martin for Quentin Grimes.
“That’s going to be a tool for us,” Morey said. “We have 64% odds to have a top pick in this draft. That’ll be another tool. If you look at teams that make aggressive moves like us and then have a rough season, most of the time those teams have, like, no draft picks. We have above-average draft picks going forward to improve the team for next season. We have a whole set of younger players … a lot of tools in our arsenal to upgrade the team, whereas most teams that go into the season with the third-best title odds like we did and have a rough year, [they] don’t have much maneuverability. We feel like we have a lot of maneuverability with our assets going forward and the young players coach developed.”