After the Sixers' season concluded with their 58th loss and player after player spoke to the media for their exit interviews, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse conducted a lengthy availability to discuss where this season went wrong, the next steps ahead of a crucial offseason and much more. Morey did much of the talking. Here's everything you need to know from Morey with bits and pieces from Nurse, in another edition of Sixers soundbites:
• Morey's opening statement begins with an apology of sorts to the fans:
"Tough season, not where we expected to be. Ownership, myself, Coach Nurse Joel, Paul, Tyrese, our whole roster, we expect more. We really feel for the fans who put their heart and soul into this team. We know we've let you down."
• Morey explains where he feels he made missteps this season:
"Those three guys, our three All-Stars going forward, I have to do a better job putting a supporting cast around them… I think when you go through a season like this, you need to really take a step back and everyone needs to find a mirror, starting with myself. What could have gone better? What can I do better? And there's quite a few things there. I would say one of those things is I was very focused on finding veteran-type players who generally perform very well in the playoffs. And I didn't put enough emphasis on the team getting through the regular season. And so next season for sure, we will be a younger, more dynamic group… We need to hit the ground running. Another place that I know I need to be better was just even starting out. Obviously we didn't have health to start out, but even factoring that in, we need to hit the ground running starting at the beginning next year. And I didn't set the tone well for the group going into the season. So that will be another area we correct."
• Morey on how this season could be beneficial for some of the team's young players moving forward:
"Coach Nurse has really done a good job. When you go through a tough time like this, you want to make sure to maximize it. And we feel like we've done that well. Justin Edwards, Jared McCain, [Adem] Bona, who's had some great minutes here down the stretch, Quentin Grimes, who we got at the trade deadline. These are all guys in their prime or well before it, into their early parts of their careers, that are going to give us great minutes. It's going to be a much younger, more dynamic group to help us manage through the season."
MORE: Morey's post-trade deadline comments
• Morey argues the Sixers are in a much better position than most teams that just experienced such a brutal season:
"We were able to trade for our second-round pick at the deadline. That's going to be a tool for us. We've given ourselves — or we have — 64 percent odds to have a top pick in this draft. That'll be another tool. If you look forward, 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 third-best title odds like we did and have a rough year… don't have much maneuverability. We feel like we have a lot of maneuverability with our assets going forward and the young player [Nurse] developed."
• Morey singles out Grimes, the soon-to-be restricted free agent:
"I did want to mention Quentin Grimes. I think he was a real bright spot. We're excited for him to come back. We've positioned ourselves to bring him back. He had multiple 40-point performances. His defense we think really fits well with Tyrese. We think he's a very good fit there. And we think with Joel, Paul and Tyrese, he's a very good fit."
• Morey on Joel Embiid's status shortly after his latest knee surgery:
"Dr. Glashow, who did the surgery, is very, very optimistic about [Embiid]’s prognosis. We love that after a lot of work, working with over 10 doctors, six in-person examined him and a long process to get to the right answer, we feel great that Dr. Glashow was the right answer and that the surgery went so well. And we like that Dr. Glashow is going to do a lot of the early rehab with Joel in-person, and he has a great track record with a lot of great players in this league to have them come back strong. So if everything sets up well, we'll have a younger, more dynamic roster around a healthy Joel, Tyrese and Paul."
• Morey's opening statement concludes with a pledge of sorts:
"For me personally, it is obviously the toughest season of my career. And I'll just say, personally, I will spend every waking hour figuring out how to turn this team around going into next season."
MORE: Predicting Sixers' contract option decisions
• Morey on if he is concerned about continuing to build around Embiid and Paul George given their ages and injury histories:
"I would say that, when you — look, Joel is maybe 13 months from scoring 70 [points] in a game. Obviously a lot has changed. He got landed on in Golden State and that's created the last many months of him working to get healthy, which he'll continue to do. But we know he's an MVP-level talent when he's healthy. That requires you to be, in my opinion — I think it's fair for people to have the question you have — but in my opinion, when you have an MVP-level talent, you need to make aggressive moves to upgrade around that talent in that window. And that's what we did last offseason and we feel good about it going forward. I think it's such a unique thing to have a player of that caliber. Are we somewhat indexed to talented players who are a little bit more injured? Yes. But that's why we need to have a younger, deeper roster around them and then have them healthy going into the playoffs next year."
• Morey on why George's arrival made it more important to give Embiid a contract extension prior to the season:
"Paul we thought was a very good fit, obviously, we brought him here. He's only here because of — he wants to play with the organization — but very specifically with Joel Embiid. For us, that was the best plan to put the best team together. And that's a group decision when you make those decisions… When you have Paul signed long-term, it's important for your MVP-level player to also be signed long-term."
• Morey on a report that he had to convince Sixers ownership to give Embiid that three-year, $193 million contract extension:
"I think that's a sort of a lack of understanding how things work in this league. David [Blitzer], Josh [Harris], Elton [Brand], Nick, all of us, we are a decision-making unit where we're looking for, ‘How do we put together the best team to win the championship?’ There isn't ever any, like, ‘This person wanted this or that.’ We have a group discussion and then make a decision as a group."
• Morey on what he made of Tyrese Maxey's fifth NBA season:
"I would say that the thing that really encouraged me is his progress on defense. I know Coach challenged him on that end and I think he really improved in that area, and it gave me a lot of confidence that he can keep improving on that side of the ball. On offense, I think it was a challenging year given he was sometimes the only, top-level talent, All-Star level talent out on the floor, and I think that that's hard for anyone in this league."
• Morey on whether the Sixers have the requisite infrastructure to assist Embiid in his recovery from a mental perspective:
"I like the question because I think it points out that as much as it was hard on the coaching staff or the other players on the team that he wasn’t available, it was hardest on Joel. I mean, he takes a lot of pride in being the MVP-level player he can be and what that means for the fans in Philly. And I do think he takes to heart what Philly fans care about and what they want him to be — which I think is great. Because it puts high expectations and I would say, in terms of, like, details on what he's doing personally to put himself in the right mental state are not something I would be privy to share. I think that would be something you'd have to ask Joel. But I do know that resources are always provided to all our players to be able to play both from a physical and mental perspective at the highest level possible. And we do think that's a very important aspect to have those resources available."
• Morey on why an arthroscopic procedure was chosen for Embiid:
"I think it's hard for me to address that except that I know it was after lots of discussion and consultation but the best plan to go forward."
MORE: 5 Sixers exit interview takeaways
• Nurse on what the team needs to look like moving forward surrounding Embiid, Maxey and George:
"I think that the game keeps getting faster and faster and more dynamic and just for really basic things, like just defense in transition and defensive rebounding. We just need to be a little bigger, longer, stronger, more athletic, just to get that basic thing kind of under control. I think that's probably the answer that covers, although you could go into some other things there, and attack off the bounce, some of that kind of stuff but, but I think that would be the [most important]…"
• Morey on if he believes Maxey, Grimes and Jared McCain — all guards — can fit alongside each other moving forward:
"I think how we use 'em, I think Nick will obviously — I'm not sure we had all, yeah we definitely never had all three of them this year — so we never had a chance to try it. I do think all three of those guys can contribute to a championship team but exactly how we use it, I'll leave, I'll leave to Coach Nurse."
• Nurse on gives his input on the same question:
"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. 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."
• Morey on what he made of Guerschon Yabusele's season and a possible reunion:
"We love what Guerschon was able to bring. I think that was a great job by our scouting department and a great job by the coaching staff getting the most out of him. Just like Paul, he got pressed into maybe some roles that were a little different than he thought. We thought he was going to play more of the four and he's excelled there. He gave us a lot of very good minutes at the five as well. But in the team going forward, his mix of minutes will be I think a little different when we're healthy and we really like his fit going forward. So we would like to retain him. Obviously, he’s an unrestricted free agent, and so it's not for sure whenever that happens, but we would like to retain him."
• Morey on what the team's strategy will be if it keeps its top-six protected first-round pick:
"Definitely best player available. It has to be that high in the draft for sure. But we see the pick as sort of a tool to upgrade the team and obviously it'll depend, you know, it'll matter if it's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or we just have the pick in the future… So it's just a tool to make the team better, but obviously there's a good chance we'll take someone. In that case it will just be the best player. Yeah, I've never shied from that."
MORE: Sixers' odds of keeping first-round pick, winning draft lottery
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
