PHILADELPHIA — Daryl Morey recently likened the NBA offseason to throwing a bunch of balls in the air — and potentially watching them land somewhere other than the Sixers’ roster.

“Then everyone will be mad, and that’s fine,” the team’s president of basketball operations said at his end-of-season news conference.

Morey and the Sixers hope that scenario does not unfold, of course. They enter this critical summer with cap space, with replenished tradable draft capital, and with an All-Star tandem of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Yet the players the Sixers could reasonably land also depends on how the landscape evolves around them.

Which players turn disgruntled? Which teams fully pivot to a rebuild? Who might be willing to be the dance partner in a blockbuster trade?

Here are 10 leaguewide decisions that could shape the Sixers’ offseason.

1. Does Paul George sign a contract extension?

The Los Angeles Clippers are also coming off a disappointing first-round exit, after trading for former Sixer James Harden to pair with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Leonard, who was sidelined with another postseason knee injury, recently signed an extension with the Clippers. George, who is also eligible, has not.

Until that happens (or doesn’t), speculation about the nine-time All-Star’s future will percolate.

George orchestrated the 2019 trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Clippers because he is from the Los Angeles area, and wanted to team up with Leonard. Clippers chief executive Lawrence Frank said during his end-of-season news conference that he is hopeful George (and Harden) will remain in Los Angeles.

But four years later, has this core run its course?

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