Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey could be living on the edge. On the one hand, he could have an abundance of cap space to use next offseason if James Harden is traded sometime soon. However, the longtime executive might not be the one spending it if the Sixers fall short again in the postseason.

“The rhetoric that’s coming out now is if they don’t get it done this year, they’ll have a lot of cap space next year,” the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey told HoopsHype. “The problem that Morey faces is before you had Doc Rivers, who you could blame, you could blame ‘The Process,' you could blame other people. Right now, all eyes are on Morey.”

That is quite the conundrum for the 2018 NBA Executive of the Year. His desire to reunite with Harden from their Houston Rockets days has not gone as hoped to this point. It could ultimately amount to nothing more than back-to-back second-round exits if the star guard is indeed dealt this offseason.

The 76ers cannot treat the 2023-24 campaign as a gap year. Expectations are too high, as is concern for Joel Embiid's long-term future if the team continues to stumble in the playoffs. Morey was brought in to fix that very issue and make the necessary moves to turn a top regular season squad into a championship-caliber one.

“Daryl Morey has shown through his executive tenure with the Sixers and Rockets that he’s always been able to get star players,” HoopsHype's Michael Scotto said. “If Harden is traded, Morey could go all in on cap space for next summer and try to pair another star with Embiid and Maxey as the core going forward.”

Scotto also noted that Morey has never led a rebuilding effort and thus might be fazed out if Philly is forced to blow it all up. That is a disaster-case scenario that hinges on a variety of factors, though.

Morey's specialty is retooling rosters. It almost worked in Houston with the addition of Chris Paul, but injuries and the Golden State Warriors interfered. “Almost” might not be enough to spare him next year.