Daryl Morey had his end of the year press conference Monday. The most significant thing he mentioned is that he owes it to the fans, ownership, and to everyone to make the team a contender:

Uhhhhhhh ya think? We’ve been through otherworldly bullshit over the last decade (still a more successful decade than Knicks fans have had in 30 years). Still, that last series was probably the most exhausted I’ve ever been afterward. Every game felt like Game 7 over the last couple of weeks. There were an insane amount of narratives for a first round clash.

Not to mention the arena being overrun with gutter trash from New York, leaving heroes to protect the statues of one of our greats:

But I can’t lie, this is probably the best I’ve felt about the Sixers going into the offseason since 2019. So what’s Daryl’s plan for free agency in an attempt to bring us a title?

He’s coming home:

Or he’s going to beat the Heat starters with the bench unit:

Some other highlights from Daryl’s presser:

– I thought Kyle Neubeck’s question insinuating why the Sixers would pay Paul George when they could’ve paid James Harden last year was great. Daryl kind of danced around it a little even hitting him with a, “I don’t accept the premise of the question” –

– It looks like Paul Reed will be back:

– The Sixers don’t have any say in Joel Embiid’s decision to play in the Olympics. Daryl even seemed encouraged Embiid would play:

I think I’m in the minority on this one, but I love that Embiid is playing in the Olympics. I’m hoping he either forges relationships with the best players in the world that one day they’ll come and play for the Sixers or he realizes what it takes to win and switches his mindset into a grindset staring down the barrel of 30.

– Buddy Hield’s fit was “less good than he thought” –

It’s like finally getting the girl you’ve been chasing for years only to realize quickly this is why she’s had 10 boyfriends in the last five years. She’s fucking crazy and every day you don’t know who you’re going to get.

Obviously Daryl never shows his hand during these and maybe this is letting my Negadelphia brain win here, but this press conference to me screamed Paul George. It’s going to be Paul George. It’ll be the same shit, different max player that didn’t live up to expectations. I hope I’m wrong.