In the hours before and after the Sixers' season finale on Sunday afternoon, nearly every member of the disappointing 2024-25 team conducted their end-of-season exit interviews with the media. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse closed the show, with Morey announcing that both of them would be back next season before fielding many questions about a year that quickly devolved into disaster.
To kick off the week and the offseason, it's another edition of 5 Sixers thoughts with some overarching takeaways from the team's exit interviews:
The latest on Joel Embiid after knee surgery
Joel Embiid, who has not spoken to the media in nearly two months, was not at the arena on Sunday to conduct an exit interview, the Sixers said after the game, as he has a follow-up appointment in New York City following his arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday.
On multiple occasions, Morey asserted that the team expects Embiid to be at 100 percent when next season starts. But he echoed many of Nurse's statements over the past few days, implying he cannot explain the exact science and medical rationale behind the specific procedure chosen for Embiid. Neither are doctors — Morey made this clear while joking about his coach's last name still being "Nurse" — but it is fair to ask: if a relatively minor operation with a six-week re-evaluation period was all Embiid's knee needed to be in a considerably better place, why did he not get the surgery until the middle of April?
In any case, Morey's comments that Embiid is expected to be healthy next season were matched by the things he said about how the team plans to operate this offseason. Morey casually commented that because the Sixers have an "MVP-level" player, the organization must be aggressive in pursuing all opportunities to upgrade its roster.
Is Embiid reliable enough for the Sixers to make major investments in his supporting cast after already making enormous investments in the 2022-23 NBA MVP himself? Many would argue not, but Morey still believes a team built around Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George has a chance to win at the highest of levels.
MORE: Paul George's full exit interview
Morey looks in the mirror
Morey's opening statement, he admitted, might have been the longest he has ever issued. He began by apologizing to the fan base at the end of a disappointing campaign.
"A tough season, not where we expected to be," Morey said. "…We expect more. We really feel for the fans who put their heart and soul into this team, and we know we've let you down."
Ultimately, Morey appeared focused on absorbing as much blame as he could after receiving a significant amount of criticism throughout the year.
"For me personally, it is obviously the toughest season of my career," Morey said. "I'll just say, personally, I will spend every waking hour figuring out how to turn this team around going into next season."
In a clear change from the norm, Morey extended beyond those platitudes and brought up his own misjudgments throughout the season. He talked about the team's dreadful start to the season and said he "didn't set the tone well for the group" going into the season. He said the supporting cast he assembled around a trio of All-Stars was not good enough.
Perhaps the most interesting gripe Morey brought up with his own performance: he spoke in real depth about creating a roster too reliant on veterans with playoff experience. Morey said his goal was to assemble a team that would be in peak shape in the playoffs, but failed to properly weigh the importance of winning regular season games in order to get to that point. Morey said the team will unquestionably enter 2025-26 much younger than they were at the start of the season, citing the need for a "dynamic" nature to the team and more athleticism. It was an extension of his comments after the trade deadline.
"If everything sets up well," Morey said, "we'll have a younger, more dynamic roster around a healthy Joel, Tyrese and Paul."
Can the Sixers build around Maxey, McCain, Grimes?
Morey and Nurse certainly seem to think so.
"I do think all three of those guys can contribute to a championship team but exactly how we use [them], I'll leave to Coach Nurse," Morey said.
Nurse followed up with his assessment of the outlook of a three-guard core, which appears to rely on the idea of staggering the three talented guards as much as possible.
"First of all, absolutely sure on Tyrese and really, really sure on Jared. I think his confidence level and just the way he's attacked this rehab, ready to go [and working] hard. Obviously, [Quentin], it's kind of a little bit of a different situation," Nurse said. "I think he played great. Love his fire, love his competitiveness, love his balance, got some strength, will work at the defensive end as well. I’ve certainly mentioned this during the season: I would love it — and I think it's probably the case if all three of them are back — that McCain and Grimes play some backup point guard as well. Again, just keeping in mind just the size factor a little bit. So I think it could work."
When Morey spoke to the media in February, he was asked about the viability of a Maxey-McCain backcourt defensively given their size concerns. Morey pointed out that one of Nurse's strengths as a defensive coach is successfully utilizing ball pressure at the point of attack and getting the most out of smaller guards. That has been true for Maxey, whose major leap defensively in his fifth NBA season was highlighted by both Morey and Nurse on Sunday.
MORE: Sixers' odds of keeping first-round pick, winning draft lottery
Kyle Lowry wants to play one more year, and do it for his hometown team
As Lowry, 39, took the podium, he knew what everyone wanted to know. Before the veteran of 19 NBA seasons had to answer the obvious question directly, he told the media of his plans for the year to come.
"I want to play one more year," Lowry said, "and hopefully it's here."
Lowry, who missed the majority of this season due to issues in his right hip that just never went away, has remained as valuable of a presence in the locker room as possible. On Sunday alone, multiple players highlighted his mentorship, entirely unprompted, when asked about their individual success. But even when he was healthy, the production never came. Lowry could not miss from three-point range in the first handful of games; afterwards he struggled in that department along with just about every facet of the game that can be quantified.
Nobody would ever question Lowry's competitiveness or brilliance on the court. But even for a player who never won with outlier athleticism, he may just no longer meet the requisite threshold of mobility to hang in the NBA in 2025. If any guard could survive without the ability to create any separation off the dribble it might be Lowry, but his production (or lack thereof) in 2024-25 suggested it might not be possible.
Lowry would not be the first or last player to be re-signed by a team for reasons having more to do with off-court matters. However, one complication could be the Sixers' preference to enter the season with a roster spot open to maximize trade deadline and financial flexibility. If the Sixers only carry 14 players, it may be more difficult to justify Lowry being one of them. If they go to a full 15-man roster from the outset, it would be easier to slot in someone whose value may be felt more in the locker room than on the floor.
Andre Drummond says he has unfinished business with Sixers, too
"My plan is to come back," Drummond said when asked about his future. By definition, it is largely up to him, as his contract includes a $5 million player option. It is not difficult to imagine him simply picking up that option and returning for 2025-26; Drummond's injury-riddled season in which his production lagged behind his standards by quite a bit would not put him in a good position to beat that salary on the open market.
Frankly, the Sixers have options outside of Drummond to be their backup center in 2025-26 that are far better when considering price. Those options — Guerschon Yabusele and Adem Bona, for example — might be flat-out better than Drummond moving forward even without factoring potential salaries into the discussion. But again, the cards are in his hands to some degree.
If Drummond picks up that option as expected, however, the Sixers could always trade him. Perhaps his $5 million salary is useful filler in a larger deal. Maybe instead the team just salary dumps him. Morey alluded to the team's significant number of second-round picks moving forward on Sunday; they may have to part with two or three of them to just shed his deal without receiving anything in return.
Would that be worth it? In the NBA's new salary cap environment, every dollar counts. With a surplus of future second-rounders — not to mention the No. 35 overall pick this June — maybe a salary dump would be prudent. Maybe there will be a team with some financial wiggle room that needs help on the boards and will happily absorb Drummond's salary.
The only thing that feels definitively likely at this juncture is Drummond picking up that player option.
MORE: Tyrese Maxey's full exit interview
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice