Philadelphia 76er roster shows that Daryl Morey is still in the lab

The Philadelphia 76ers currently have 15 players set to be on their roster for the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season. For most organizations, that would mean that the team is done tinkering for the offseason and has their squad ready for the upcoming campaign. For the Sixers, though, that number is just further proof that President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is still in the kitchen cooking.

With the impending additions of two-way forwards PJ Tucker and Danuel House, Philly will officially have 15 rostered players for 2022-2023, not counting their two designated two-way deals for Charlie Brown Jr. and Julian Champagnie. Why does this indicate that the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t finished with their offseason? Because that list of 15 players still doesn’t include James Harden, whose new deal has yet to be inked or officially announced by either side.

If it’s to be assumed that Harden will be returning to the Philadelphia 76ers — which it should be — then Morey has to have at least one more subsequent move up his sleeve. It could be as simple as cutting Charles Bassey, who only has a little over $74 thousand guaranteed on his contract for next year, according to spotrac. Or it could mean something more exciting is coming like a trade that sees the Sixers send out two players in return for one (Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz to the Dallas Mavericks for Reggie Bullock, anybody?).

Philadelphia could also move one of their players for another team’s trade exception and receive draft compensation in return. This could open up even more flexibility for Morey to make mid-season upgrades. After signing Tucker with their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, a resource that was only made available due to Harden’s willingness to play ball and opt out of his player option, the Philadelphia 76ers will have a hard cap estimated at $156 million that they will not be able to surpass under any circumstance.

With the Beard, Tucker, and House’s signings finalized, Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers might want to consider cutting some additional salary in any further move they make from here on out. Shedding some salary by way of trading an excess player into another team’s trade exception and receiving some draft capital in return would be a wise move for Philadelphia on multiple fronts.

Ultimately, whether it just spells the end for Charles Bassey‘s short-lived tenure in Philly or it’s an indication that a larger move is on the horizon, one thing is certain: with 15 players currently rostered and James Harden yet to be re-signed, Daryl Morey isn’t done yet.