PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers mercifully ended perhaps — given the weight of the championship expectations with a roster that included three elite stars in Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey and a massive payroll — their worst season in franchise history.
76ers President Daryl Morey has the solution to turn the forlorn franchise into winners: Bring 'em all back.
That's right, Morey said he's returning for another season and coach Nick Nurse will also return for a third season on the bench.
Morey also boldly proclaimed — what other choice did he have, really? — that Embiid, George and Maxey should enter training camp healthy, recovered from surgeries and ready to prove the Big Three can make it through a season unscathed and are ready to fulfill their title hunt on the court rather than spend the bulk of the season on the injury report.
Given Embiid's injury history, and his uncertain recovery timeline following arthroscopic surgery last week on his left knee, any chance of the 76ers bouncing back next season into even a decent team sure seems like a stretch.
Morey promised Sunday after the Sixers wrapped a 24-58 season — that included a 5-31 stretch to close it — that he would spend the summer trying make the roster younger, more athletic to potentially help the team fight off the rash of injuries that wrecked the season and provide a bit of a cushion if the core trio are sidelined again for long stretches at a time.
Speaking to the fans, Morey said, “We know we let you down.”
Embiid, Maxey and George played all of 15 games together this season and the trio played a combined 119 games. Embiid, a two-time scoring champion and 2023 NBA MVP, played only 19. He will be re-evaluated in about six weeks.
Morey said all three should be back at “100%” by training camp.
One by one, Maxey, George, a bulk of the 29 players who appeared this season in at least one game, Morey and Nurse took the heat for the dismal season after Sunday's loss to Chicago. The 76ers said Embiid was in New York for a follow-up doctor's appointment and to continue his rehabilitation and was not available to the media.
The 76ers to a man said it pained them as much to see Embiid — ravaged by scores of injuries this season, that included a sprained left foot and a sinus fracture — slog through the season as it did to suffer loss-after-loss in the season's final months.
“To see him suffer, to see him go out there and actually try, he just couldn't be himself, you could tell,” Maxey said. "I've seen him do so many spectacular things. I gave him the ball a couple of times in moments where I think he can do something, and I guess he just couldn't. He was limited."
So were most of the Sixers,
Injuries hurtMaxey broke a finger and hasn’t been in action since March 3.
George played in just 41 games this season, then was shut down for the year after receiving injections in his left groin and left knee. George, who turns 35 on May 2, signed a $212 million, four-year contract in free agency last summer. But his first year in Philly was marred by injuries that resulted in the forward having one of the worst years of his NBA career.
He averaged 16.2 points in just 41 games, easily his lowest scoring average in a full season since he averaged 12.1 points for Indiana in his second NBA season.
Even when healthy, the 76ers went just 7-8 this season when All-Star trio played ...
