Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey will speak to reporters on Friday afternoon, something he has done after every trade deadline during his tenure with the team.

For the first time, Morey will not have any new players to welcome to the organization. The Sixers made two trades this week, sending second-year guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick and three second-round picks on Wednesday and sending Eric Gordon with a 2032 second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday for the sake of shedding Gordon's salary. Across six deadlines in Philadelphia, it is the first time Morey went through a deadline without adding a player to his roster.

In their first playoff run with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Sixers nabbed two rotation pieces off the buyout market. In their most recent playoff appearance, they started a buyout signing in Kyle Lowry. Who could they strike gold with this season?

Lonzo Ball

Picked in between Markelle Fultz and Jayson Tatum at No. 2 overall in 2017, Ball has overcome a lot in recent years, with significant knee issues derailing his career before he returned to the floor last season. Ball was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason, and his versatile two-way skillset appeared to make him a perfect fit in his new home.

But Ball struggled mightily, posting some of the worst shooting marks in recent history. In 35 games (three starts) with the Cavaliers, Ball shot 30.1 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from three-point range. Despite his reputation as a great passer with elite court vision, Ball's shot creation is extremely limited because he cannot generate off-the-dribble advantages – as evidenced by his absurd .835 three-point attempt rate in Cleveland this year.

With a replenished guard rotation that includes James Harden and financial concerns, Cleveland salary dumped Ball to the Utah Jazz this week as part of significant shuffling. Reporting quickly emerged that Utah would waive the 28-year-old.

Despite his dreadful season to date, contenders should be expected to check in on Ball. He is essentially a connective wing at this point, which is useful even if it limits his ceiling. Among the Sixers' biggest needs is an additional ball-handler as insurance for any potential injury to Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes. Another player capable of taking down wing assignments on the defensive end would also help. Ball fits both of those descriptors.

Haywood Highsmith

The former Sixers developmental piece was waived by the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday to facilitate other deals they were putting together, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that Highsmith is healthy and ready for his season debut as he draws interest from contenders:

Highsmith left the Sixers seemingly a failed project but returned to the NBA with the Miami Heat and became a quality two-way wing, reliable on defense across the perimeter positional spectrum and capable of knocking down more than enough of his spot-up three-point attempts. The 29-year-old was salary dumped by Miami over the summer and had not yet played for Brooklyn due to a knee injury, but it was unclear whether his absence was more about the ailment or the Nets' collection of young players in need of minutes.

Now that Highsmith is healthy again, there is no reason not to believe he can once again be a rotation-caliber wing. With Paul George out for another 22 games due to his suspension, the Sixers could very much use some depth behind Kelly Oubre Jr., as Justin Edwards is their only other traditional wing available. Highsmith would be a nice stabilizer for head coach Nick Nurse's wing rotation without George and could still have a case to be part of the rotation when the nine-time All-Star returns. 

Georges Niang

A more memorable former Sixer, Niang has yet to play this season. He was returned to the Utah Jazz after a series of trades during the offseason, and a foot injury kept him sidelined until he was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster. Like Highsmith, though, Niang was a veteran on an extremely young team, so it is unclear how much of his lack of games played stems from the seriousness of his injury and how much it was the product of his team wanting to ensure its young pieces had chances to play.

If Niang is bought out by a Memphis team also pivoting towards a youth movement, the Sixers could bring back a treasured presence in their locker room and a lights-out three-point shooter. The Sixers' shift from stretch fours to ones with prowess on the glass has largely been a success this season, but Embiid will always like playing with space around him. Niang would provide a lot of it.

Khris Middleton

Middleton has had quite the fall from grace over the last two seasons, as injuries have piled up and taken their toll on the three-time All-Star. He was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Washington Wizards at last year's deadline for Kyle Kuzma, and this year he was salary filler in a shocking trade that sent Anthony Davis to Washington. Now in Dallas, what purpose does Middleton serve?

He is a very well-respected veteran, and perhaps No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg could learn a thing or two from a former champion. But the Mavericks control their first-round pick this year, and that will not be the case again for the remainder of the decade. If they are ever going to tank, now would be the time.

Perhaps an even better question: what purpose does Middleton serve in Philadelphia? In his prime he was an elite mid-range scorer who paired high volume with strong efficiency as a three-point shooter. Nowadays, his scoring juice is a far cry from what it once was. There have been worse bets than a 34-year-old Middleton on a prorated minimum contract, but it is far from a sure thing that he would be able to help the team win.

Cam Thomas

The people who think taking the qualifying offer has gone poorly for Grimes should instead look at Thomas, who on Thursday was waived by the Nets. Thomas, a former first-round pick who is 24 years old and averaged 22.9 points per game across the last two seasons, will be looking for a new home.

Thomas' representation should be looking for a destination where he has a chance to assert himself as a future fixture in the backcourt, and the Sixers certainly would not afford him such an opportunity. This team does badly need a fourth guard behind Maxey, Edgecombe and Grimes, but Thomas is not a fit.

There is no doubt that he has gifts as a scorer that cannot be taught, but Thomas' play in Brooklyn has reflected a singular focus on Thomas and Thomas alone. He has tunnel vision and does not play any team-oriented basketball on either end of the floor. Over the last two years, Brooklyn has toggled back and forth between great and poor on defense depending on whether or not he is in the lineup.

Mike Conley

Conley returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves feels like the best bet; after Minnesota traded him to the Bulls he got rerouted to the Charlotte Hornets and then was waived. That means it is the Bulls, not the Timberwolves, who are not allowed to sign Conley.

If Conley does test the waters, the Sixers could have some level of interest in a calm hand at backup point guard. Conley, 38, has been there and done that, but the Timberwolves dumped him in the first place because he has been hit hard by the inevitable aging curve this season. He is a fringe rotation-caliber player at best (at guard, the Sixers still need that).

Jevon Carter

Carter, a 30-year-old guard with a reputation as a bulldog on the defensive end of the floor, is also an extremely high-volume three-point shooter. He might provide the best mix of offensive and defensive skills of any guards on this list; he is not a playmaker but can handle the ball in brief spurts if absolutely necessary. But he is trustworthy as a defender and can really shoot; his best role is as a point-of-attack defensive specialist who plays off the ball and knocks down spot up threes.

If Carter was a perfect player, the Bulls would not have waived him shortly before the trade deadline. But between his final season with the Milwaukee Bucks and two-plus years in Chicago, he made 37.9 percent of his three-point tries on massive volume – 10.7 long-range tries per 100 possessions.

MORE: WATCH: Instant reaction to McCain trade

Chris Boucher

Salary dumped by the Boston Celtics to Utah and waived by the Jazz, Boucher has experience playing under Nurse, is a stretch big and theoretically fits the archetype the Sixers should always value: someone capable of backing up Embiid or playing next to him.

Now that the deadline has come and gone with Andre Drummond and Adem Bona still in place behind Embiid – with Johni Broome also on the standard roster – a player like Boucher is less of a need. If the Sixers are going to sign Barlow and Walker to standard contracts and have one roster spot to fill, adding a guard or a wing would be more beneficial than a big.

The number one reason Boucher might not sign with the Sixers is that it is difficult to ever imagine a world in which people are not theorizing about him joining the Sixers.

MORE: Sixers future draft pick tracker