Philadelphia 76ers president of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Daryl Morey went star-hunting and struck out ahead of trade deadline

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 2/14/24

Daryl Morey sure likes to swing for the fences.

During his time running the Rockets, Morey developed the reputation of being the front office executive who routinely calls counterparts about star players unavailable in the trade market. And to his credit, Morey signed or traded for at least four future Hall of Famers -- James Harden, Dwight Howard, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul -- with his "Win-now, what draft picks?" attitude.

Since arriving in Philadelphia, Morey has continued in his ways, and while he has yet to land a Hall of Famer -- unless you count Kyle Lowry -- he's determined to acquire one.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, Morey called the Lakers to inquire about LeBron James ahead of the Feb 8. trade deadline, and after being shunned, reached out to the Suns about Kevin Durant. When shunned again, he actually checked on Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

“These sorts of bold trade calls are historically a common practice for [Daryl] Morey, who also called the Phoenix Suns and asked about a trade for Durant prior to the deadline, sources said. When told no on Durant, Morey then asked about the availability of Devin Booker and… https://t.co/XXwASBkJjq
— Philly Sixers Galaxy (@sixers_galaxy) February 14, 2024

Despite striking out on all those big names, Morey will go star-hunting again this offseason with over $50M in projected cap space. This year's free agency class could be headlined by James, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Pascal Siakam, Harden and Jrue Holiday.

Many insiders believe Morey is confident in landing a third star to pair with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey ahead of the 2024-25 season. There's also the possibility of Morey targeting a disgruntled star asking for a trade during the offseason, a recurring trend over the past few years.

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