The Philadelphia 76ers just made a decision on their front office that will have massive implications on their future. Effective immediately, team President Daryl Morey is out after just six seasons with the team.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Morey met with 76ers brass on Tuesday, where they discussed their parting in a private conversation. Now, the franchise will begin the long and complicated process of finding his replacement, with former Warriors executive Bob Myers playing a crucial role.
“Head coach Nick Nurse will continue in his role into a fourth season with the 76ers,” wrote Shams on X. “Four-time NBA championship architect Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, will be tasked to lead the search for the new head executive for the 76ers, and he will oversee the franchise’s basketball department in the interim.”
Morey was GM of the Houston Rockets during the James Harden era. For years, they stood as the Warriors’ leading opposition in the West as Harden played the best basketball of his career. Ultimately, however, Morey’s position of power was compromised when he made a public show of support for Hong Kong, which led to the suspension of partnerships that cost the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars.
Morey resigned in October 2020, but it wouldn’t be long before he’d find his way back into the NBA limelight. Just a few months later, he was hired as the President of the 76ers, signing a five-year deal to try and build a contender with Joel Embiid. In those five seasons, the 76ers have never advanced past the second round. This season, when the 76ers were swept by the Knicks in the East Semifinals, it was the last straw that ultimately cost Morey his job.
As for what happens next, not even the 76ers know the answer. While there have been calls for Nick Nurse’s dismissal, the 76ers are expected to keep him for the start of next season, which will mark his fourth with the franchise. Nurse began as an assistant coach with the Raptors under Dwane Casey before elevating into the main job himself. Eventually, he was let go and subsequently recruited by Darl Morey, who felt that he was the best fit to lead his Sixers squad.
Hiring Nurse is one of Morey’s more agreeable moves, but his tenure was marked with plenty of controversial decisions. First, there’s the Ben Simmons fiasco. Morey was running the show when relations with Simmons broke down, leading to a massive internal war that ravaged the team’s morale. Eventually, he was forced to trade the former All-Star for a package that included James Harden and Paul Millsap.
To make matters even worse for Morey, he had a falling out with James Harden as well, after he reneged on the promise of a max extension. Harden, who played with Morey on the Rockets, told the world that he would never play for him again, essentially ending his time with the 76ers almost just as quickly as it began.
None of that’s to mention the Joel Embiid situation. Despite the big man’s long history of injuries and spotty availability, Morey signed him to a three-year, $192.9 million maximum extension in 2024. In the two seasons since that extension, Joel has played in a total of just 57 games, with no All-Star appearances.
To say Morey was on the hot seat before this season might be an understatement, but he still had a chance to save his job with one miracle playoff run. Winning the first round was the first step, but the 76ers failed to build on their initial momentum. In fact, after being swept 4-0 in round two, the Sixers were exposed on multiple fronts and felt a major change was needed to start setting things back in the right direction.
