Daryl Morey was officially announced as the president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers a couple of weeks after finishing his tenure with the Houston Rockets. Philly is trying to make substantial changes this season and be competitive in the Eastern Conference once again and Daryl Morey seems to be the man for that job. It won’t be easy, but he’ll be receiving big money to make good things happen in Philadelphia.
Marc Stein of the New York Times revealed some details about Morey’s contract (or what insiders believe), as well as what the Sixers expect from Morey during his time with the franchise. They have a lot of questions to answer this season, especially regarding their two stars, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Industry insiders estimate that Morey received a salary in excess of $10 million annually. Specific figures were not announced, but some insist that the deal tops the five-year, $60 million contract that Phil Jackson reportedly received when he was named team president by the Knicks. The Sixers, citing team policy, declined to discuss the contract specifics when asked this week.
One immediate plus for the Sixers in finally landing their man: Morey, as we know from the nearly 80 trades he swung in Houston from 2007 through last season, has the gumption to break up the tandem of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons by trading one of them if Rivers is unable to get them functioning better together.
One immediate concern: Morey, Rivers and Brand are all accustomed to having varying degrees of shot-calling power. So they will also have to prove, just like Philadelphia’s franchise duo, that they can mesh.
This is indeed a great deal for Morey but he will also have a huge responsibility in Philadelphia. This team has plenty of things to figure out ahead of a very important season for them. This man appears to be the right candidate to do the task, but only time will tell how everything goes for everybody.
