Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey addressed the media on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after the Sixers incredibly disappointing Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the semi-finals.
The number one topic is 24-year-old Ben Simmons and if the Sixers plan to move forward with him, or if they want to trade him.
"I would say we have an extremely good trio," Morey said, referencing Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Tobias Harris. "You don't get the one seed without having an extremely good top trio. We're going to figure out how to make the team better. We gave ourselves a very good chance this year. Our chances to win the title peaked pretty high this year, and obviously it's a grave disappoint that we're here and we have to take the next step.
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"Ultimately you win or lose mostly with your players," Morey continued. "So it's my job to get the best players. Frankly, we didn't have quite good enough players. Again, I love how are young players are pushing our top players. I love the reaction that Doc got in the locker room with everyone and the meetings he's had to today. The reality is like, look, we need to be overall a better team with better players and we need improvement from the players that are here and we need better players brought in, and we'll make that happen."
Here is a look at the current contract situation, in regards to that aforementioned trio, per Spotrac.com.
Joel Embiid
Age: 27
Current contract: 5 years, $147.7M
Years remaining on deal: 2
Respective cap hits: $31.5M, $33.6M
Ben Simmons
Age: 24 (turns 25 on July 20th)
Current contract: 5 years, $177.2M
Years remaining on deal: 4
Respective cap hits: $33M, $35.5M, $37.9M, $40.3M
Tobias Harris
Age: 28 (turns 29 on July 15th)
Current contract: 5 years, $180M
Years remaining on deal: 3
Respective cap hits: $36M, $37.6M, $39.2M
Despite coming up short, Morey explained that he still believes the Sixers are in an enviable position, compared to the majority of teams around the league.
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"We're committed to this group," Morey said when asked if he's committed to Simmons specifically.
"A lot of what I'm reading, I frankly don't understand when people say the Sixers are in a bad a situation. I don't choose to come here, Doc doesn't choose to come here if this is a bad situation. Really 25, 26 teams would love to be in our situation with an MVP top caliber player [in Embiid], an all-star [in Simmons], a near all-star [in Harris], great young players who are signed for the long-term, good veterans. So we've got a good foundation, we just have to do better. I have to do better, everyone has to do better. That's the bottom line. That's the challenge. I can tell to everyone in Philadelphia that there's going to be a ton of effort up and down from myself, the front office, the coaching staff, and the players—who are being challenged as we speak in meetings with Doc Rivers on how they can get better as well."