Sixers Rumors: Harrell Was Top Priority Over Morris

The Philadelphia 76ers made a lot of critical moves this offseason to bolster the roster after a disappointing exit in the second round of the playoffs last season.

Philly made a splash in free agency when they inked veterans, such as P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., to multi-year deals. The Sixers were also praised for their draft night trade to land the veteran guard De’Anthony Melton from the Memphis Grizzlies.

After improving the backcourt and the forward position, the Sixers had one question mark remaining at the center position behind their MVP-caliber big man, Joel Embiid.

Although the Sixers have Paul Reed and Charles Bassey on the roster, the two young veterans haven’t been able to prove to Doc Rivers that they are the long-term answer behind Embiid.

While it seemed the 76ers were trending toward allowing Reed and Bassey to win their head coach over, the front office kept an eye on available veterans to bring in some competition for the young vets.

A couple of weeks ago, the Sixers were linked to the Philadelphia-born veteran Markieff Morris. According to Marc Stein, Philly “explored the feasibility” of bringing in Morris. That report came one month after Morris admitted he’s desired to join the Sixers for a while.

It’s unclear how far discussions between the Sixers and Morris went, but it didn’t take long before Morris was Brooklyn-bound to join a direct rival of Philly’s in the Nets.

At first, it seemed the Sixers missed out on landing their desired target to come in and compete for backup center minutes behind Embiid, but according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Dumas, the Sixers prioritized another big all along.

Source: Ultimately, the Sixers prioritized Montrezl Harrell over Markieff Morris and were willing see Harrell’s legal issues through. Morris, though extremely interested in landing in his hometown, didn’t want to wait that process out.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) September 6, 2022

At the start of the 2022 NBA offseason, veteran big man Montrezl Harrell faced felony charges for marijuana trafficking. With charges looming, Harrell generated little buzz on the free agency market after a 25-game stint with the Charlotte Hornets.

Once Harrell’s charges were reduced to a misdemeanor last week, it became clear that teams would begin making pitches to Harrell.

It didn’t take long before Harrell found his next stop ahead of his eighth NBA season. On Wednesday, the veteran big man agreed to sign with the Sixers.

Per Dumas, the 76ers focused on Harrell throughout the summer, waiting for his legal situation to play out. When it became clear that Harrell wasn’t facing any significant charges, the Sixers moved forward with signing their guy.

Now, Harrell reunites with Daryl Morey, James Harden, and Doc Rivers. While Morris is likely disappointed that he didn’t finally fulfill his wish to play for his hometown’s team, he still enters a good situation for himself as he joins a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.