RealGM Basketball Wiretap

01 May 2025

• Knicks, Sixers Set To Meet In Abu Dhabi Games In 2025 Preseason

  The NBA and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism announced that the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers will play two games in Abu Dhabi in the 2025 preseason. The teams will meet on October 2 and 4 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

  Because the Knicks and Sixers are traveling abroad, they'll be allowed to start training camp roughly a week before teams staying stateside for the preseason. This is the fourth consecutive year that NBA teams will travel to Abu Dhabi. Previously, the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves made the trip to play in the Middle East.

• Daryl Morey, Nick Nurse Likely Have 'Hottest Seats' In NBA

  The Philadelphia 76ers swiftly retained both Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse for the upcoming season, but the team will need to bounce back significantly in order for them to continue beyond the 25-26 season.

  "I was mildly surprised," said Brian Windhorst on the Stephen A. Smith Show about the Sixers continuing to back Morey and Nurse. "But heard that ownership was on board and and agreed with and endorsed signed off on the moves that they made last year."

  The Sixers signed Paul George in free agency and also signed Joel Embiid to a massive extension. Embiid suffered from a right knee injury throughout the season, which derailed their chances of competing.

  "So I think they are giving [Morey] the grace that this was a terrible year in terms of injury and misfortune. But what I would say to both Daryl and Nick is you have no margin for error now. If next year isn't an excellent year, you're gonna...

  "That's probably, I would say, the hottest seats in the NBA right now looking into next year. We got to see how the season ends [with playoff teams], but right now the hottest seats in the league are probably Daryl and Nick Nurse."

• Daryl Morey, Nick Nurse To Return For Sixers Next Season

  Following the end of the regular season on Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey met with the media. As part of that meeting, Morey said that both he and head coach Nick Nurse would be returning to the Sixers for the 2025-26 season.

  Morey said it was "obviously a tough season" for Philadelphia. He also stressed that he and Nurse would "assess everything" to avoid a similar fate next year.

  "We expect more. We really feel for the fans who put their heart and soul into this team, and we know we've let you down," Morey said. "Ownership gave us the resources to make aggressive moves this offseason to put a championship roster around Joel [Embiid] and Tyrese [Maxey] and sometimes, those aggressive moves don't initially work out, but we feel good about [them]."

  Morey said the trio of Embiid, Maxey and Paul George would be "100%" for next season. All three stars missed considerable time this season, in addition to suffering season-ending injuries with several games to play.

  The Sixers finished with the NBA's fifth-worst record. That's important, because if Philadelphia's pick in the 2025 NBA Draft falls seventh or lower, that pick will be conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The fate of that pick won't be known until after the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday, May 12, but the 76ers would have to jumped by two teams in the lottery to lose their pick.

• Isaiah Mobley, Sixers Sign 10 Day Contract

  The Philadelphia 76ers signed forward Isaiah Mobley to a 10 Day contract. Since there is only one day left in the season, Mobley will get one day's worth of salary. The contract will expire upon completion of Sunday's game.

  Mobley appeared in 35 games with the Delaware Blue Coats of the G League this season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for Delaware.

• Joel Embiid Undergoes Successful Surgery On Left Knee

  Joel Embiid underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday. The procedure was performed at NYU Langone Sports Medicine Center by Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow.

  Embiid will be re-evaluated in approximately six weeks.

  The Sixers ruled out Embiid for the rest of the 24-25 season in late February. Embiid played in just 19 games this season and averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

  This is the second surgery on his left knee in just over a year. Embiid experienced continued pain in swelling in his troublesome knee. He underwent multiple rounds of imaging and treatment in an effort to forge a path forward.

  Embiid and the Sixers signed a three-year, $193 million extension in September.

• Marcus Bagley, Sixers Sign Second 10 Day Contract

  The Philadelphia 76ers signed Marcus Bagley to a second 10 Day contract. This deal comes with a bit of a CBA quirk.

  In most cases, teams are not allowed to sign players to 10 Day deals with fewer than 10 days left in the season. However, since the Sixers are dealing with several season-ending injuries, they were approved for a hardship exception. This allowed Bagley to sign with Philadelphia for the final nine days of the season.

  When the regular season ends for the Sixers on Sunday, Bagley's deal will expire. Philadelphia will not have free agent rights for the forward following the season.

• Joel Embiid, Sixers Had Tension With Handling Of Knee Injury

  On a recent episode of First Take, ESPN's Shams Charania detailed where Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are at with the former MVP's knee injury. Embiid met with several doctors and got several opinions on how to move forward. The veteran center and the team decided on arthroscopic surgery as the best path to get Embiid back on the floor for next season.

  However, things haven't gone smoothly between Embiid and the Sixers on the handling of his knee injury.

  "There was some tension there between Joel Embiid and that front office, from my understanding," Charania said. "The team believed he needed to play at some points of the season, that he needed to get his conditioning right through playing and getting better that way. He felt like he needed surgery. He ends up getting the surgery."

  No timeline for Embiid to return has been shared by the 76ers. There were options presented to Embiid that would have caused him to miss the entirety of next season. By going the arthroscopic surgery route, it's expected Embiid will be able to play next season.

• Tyrese Maxey Ruled Out For Remainder Of Season With Finger Injury

  The Philadelphia 76ers have ruled out Tyrese Maxey for the remainder of the 24-25 season with a finger tendon injury. Maxey hasn't played since March 3rd to rehab the injury.

  Maxey finishes the season with averages of 26.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

  Maxey and the Sixers signed a five-year, $204 million deal this past offseason after he was the NBA's Most Improved Player.

  The Sixers have previously ruled out Joel Embiid and Paul George for the remainder of the season. Philadelphia owes a top-6 protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Joel Embiid To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Left Knee

  Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee next week. The procedure is being done with the goal of reducing the symptoms Embiid has been experiencing, and will allow him to perform at a higher level. Embiid is expected to make a full recovery.

  The Sixers ruled out Embiid for the rest of the 24-25 season in late February. Embiid played in just 19 games this season and averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

  This is the second surgery on his left knee in just over a year. Embiid experienced continued pain in swelling in his troublesome knee. He underwent multiple rounds of imaging and treatment in an effort to forge a path forward.

  Embiid and the Sixers signed a three-year, $193 million extension in September.

• Colin Castleton, Sixers Agree To 10-Day Contract

  Colin Castleton has agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

  Castleton is averaging 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes across 20 games this season with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors. Castleton is coming off two successive 10-day contracts with the Raptors.

  Castleton is represented by Aaron Reilly and went undrafted out of Florida in 2023.