The Philadelphia 76ers bolstered their depth when they brought in Danuel House Jr. and De’Anthony Melton in the offseason. The goal was to continue to improve the roster to properly compete for a championship.

One casualty of those moves was young Isaiah Joe. After two seasons with the team, the Sixers cut him after the preseason, and he quickly signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When he returned to Philly in January, Joe mentioned he figured something was happening in the final days of the preseason, and he praised coach Doc Rivers for how the situation was handled.

President Daryl Morey sat down with The Philly Voice, and he explained the decision to cut Joe:

“We’re not going to have playing time for everyone. So sometimes, we’re going to cut players who are very good players. And we’re happy for those that go on to do great things,” Morey said when asked about cutting Joe last fall. “There’s a lot of factors that go into it, including the current contract or the goals of the season to win a title. We could start bringing in worse players so we never cut a good one.”

Joe is taking advantage of his opportunity with the Thunder. He’s averaging 8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.6% from deep. He has blossomed into a solid player with Oklahoma City after not getting much of an opportunity with the Sixers.