As the regular season rages on, the Philadelphia 76ers decided to lock down a key member of the organization. On Friday morning, news surfaced that Daryl Morey agreed to an extension with the franchise, keeping him in Philly through the 2027-28 season.
During his time as President of Basketball Operations, Morey has made many big changes to the roster. His most recent shake-up came during the first week of this season when he traded James Harden to the LA Clippers.
Before the Sixers' matchup with the Detroit Pistons Friday, Morey held a press conference. During the media availability, he shared his thoughts on the return of the Harden trade. Nic Batum and Robert Covington were the main players that he praised for their play thus far.
“Tremendous. Nic Batum, we hoped he could come in and contribute and until you have a player, it’s hard to know, but he’s just been like the perfect piece. Able to get the ball off quick, shooting, defensively, a glue guy, good passer to Joel. He’s been great," Morey said. "Then Robert [Covington] has given us some of the best minutes of his career when he has been in as well. I’ve worked with Robert before, so he clearly was like down in the past in his recent past, and he feels sort of unleashed, so it’s been really exciting.”
Looking at all of the players who were added in a trade, each has managed to be productive in their own way. Batum has arguably done the best as he was able to seamlessly slide into the starting lineup and fit in on both ends of the floor.
As someone who prides themselves on the defensive end, Covington fits the style of the Sixers' second unit. He's also done well as a floor spacer, shooting 38.6% from three, albeit on low volume.
Morey didn't mention Marcus Morris, but he has also started to find his stride with the Sixers. Over his last ten games, the veteran forward is averaging 9.0 PPG and shooting an incredible 64.3% from beyond the arc.
From when the trade first happened, many agreed that the Sixers won the deal. Even with the Clippers starting to figure things out, they still have a strong case as the winner. Along with being able to acclimate all the new plays, the Sixers can still swing another deal later and have great cap flexibility moving forward.
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