Sixers to keep Daryl Morey, Nick Nurse after high expectations fall flat: ‘We expect more’

No one in the Eastern Conference had a more disappointing season than the Philadelphia 76ers, and they would be the first to tell you that.

Nonetheless, they intend to bring back head of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse for another run.

“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,” Morey told reporters, via Adam Aaronson of Philly Voice. “Ownership gave us the resources to make aggressive moves this offseason to put a championship roster around (Joel Embiid) and (Tyrese Maxey) and sometimes, those aggressive moves don’t initially work out, but we feel good about (them).”

The Sixers finished a disastrous 24-58 and missed the postseason after adding Paul George to Embiid and Maxey. All three ended the season on the injured list, which is all too familiar a place for Embiid.

While some Philadelphia fans blame Morey for the hard luck, Nurse seems to be getting a pass. You could say both deserve one, or neither do, and you could make a pretty strong argument.

Anyway, Morey said he expects that Embiid, Maxey, and George will all be “100 percent” to start the 2025-26 season. 

For now, the 76ers have only the NBA Draft lottery to look forward to, having finished with the fifth-worst record in the league.

In the event the pick drops to seventh or lower, it will be conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder — who just happened to finish with the league’s best record (68-14). The Sixers won’t know for sure until the lottery is staged on May 12. They would have to be jumped by two teams to not keep the selection.