Despite a second-round loss to the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey still believes in Philadelphia's core of Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Ben Simmons.
"I would say we have an extremely good trio," Morey told reporters Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Derek Bodner. "You don't get the (East's) 1-seed without having extremely strong top-end players. ... We're gonna figure out how to make the team better."
Morey added, "We're committed to this group. This is a really good group that played at a very high level. ... I mean, really, 25 or 26 (teams) in this league would love to be in our position. ... We've got a good foundation, we just have to do better."
Philadelphia posted a 49-23 regular-season record to finish atop the Eastern Conference standings. However, the 76ers fell short of the conference finals once again and haven't reached the NBA's final four since their run to the league's championship round 20 years ago.
It was a particularly trying postseason for Simmons, whose free-throw shooting woes and lack of a jumper were issues once again.
The former No. 1 overall pick is reportedly unlikely to join Australia for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and intends to spend the offseason working on his game.
Head coach Doc Rivers said Monday that the team will work with Simmons to improve his shooting.
“My understanding is that Ben, just like all our players, is all in on the organization. ... I believe and we expect for the players to do whatever is necessary," Morey said, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.
