The Philadelphia 76ers have arguably the top executive in basketball.
The Philadelphia 76ers appeared content with only slight tweaks to the front office up until last week. The additions of Peter Dinwiddie and Prosper Karangwa were viewed favorably, but at the end of the day, Elton Brand was still in charge. And all signs pointed to it staying that way.
Up until Wednesday, that is. On Wednesday, the Sixers shocked the basketball world by signing Daryl Morey to a five-year contract to oversee basketball operations. What only recently seemed like a pipe dream is now reality. Morey will take a crack at fixing Philadelphia’s litany of problems.
It can’t all fall on Morey’s shoulders — the players and coaches will have to do their part — but Morey’s arrival marks a seismic shift in fortune. Rather than a loose collaboration of wildly incompetent executives, the Sixers will instead run through arguably the most innovative front office mind in sports.
In 14 years with Houston, Morey was the second-winningest GM in the NBA. He founded the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, where the sport minds from around the country gather yearly, and he was responsible for the Rockets’ unearthing of James Harden. He brings a resume largely unmatched around the league.
Here’s why Morey can help the Sixers get back to contention in the East.
3. He understands his coaches
Morey’s record is not perfect, but he has always shown a willingness to build with coach in mind. The Sixers won’t be getting rid of Morey or Doc Rivers anytime soon, and the two have a strong working relationship from Morey’s time in Boston. It would make sense for Morey to build the roster with Rivers’ coaching habits in mind.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but Morey has proven particularly effective at maximizing the strengths of not only his stars, but his coaches. Look no further than the Mike D’Antoni era in Houston. Say what you want about the Rockets’ inability to build a championship — that team was a buzzsaw year-in and year-out, in large part due to D’Antoni’s undiluted ability to embrace his stylistic preferences.
The Rockets were not seven seconds or less, but they were up-tempo with a spaced floor and elite guard play. Few stars were more perfect for D’Antoni than James Harden and Chris Paul — something Morey was no doubt aware of when putting that trio together.
You can even trace back to the Dwight Howard saga, which is one of the few blemishes on Morey’s record. Even that made sense when you factor in who was coach: Kevin McHale, one of the most dominant interior players of all-time. A big man for a big man coach.
Rivers’ offenses have always been heavy on pick-and-rolls, with a serious focus on strong perimeter play. The Sixers are a rare beast due to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons’ unique dispositions, but even so, expect Morey to target shooters and ball-handlers. You know, what fans have been clamoring for since the Colangelo days.
2. He understands his stars
It’s easy to look at Houston’s roster and worry about Morey’s fit in Philadelphia. Morey didn’t just like short dudes, though. He engineered Houston’s ultra-small ball rotation to maximize the skill set of James Harden, a superstar guard who’s at his best annihilating isolated defenders with a spaced floor around him.
In Philadelphia, Morey will have to adjust his approach. He will need to consider Embiid’s skill set and where it diverges from the typical lead star. He will need to consider not only Ben Simmons’ weaknesses, but his strengths as well — and, more importantly, how those strengths can work in conjunction with Embiid.
Morey and the Sixers are still, by all indications, committed to the Embiid-Simmons duo. As they should be. It’s rare to have two top-20 players who have yet to reach their prime, and Morey’s too smart to break that up on aesthetic preference.
Will he add more guards and shooters to the rotation? Probably, because that’s how you build a successful roster around Philadelphia’s core. Simmons creates more 3-point looks for teammates than anyone in basketball. He’s also a hyper-efficient scorer at the rim. To act as if he exists outside Morey’s basketball conscience is silly.
The Sixers finally have someone who can take analytics and apply them effectively. And, more importantly, they have someone who won’t go out of his way to
1. He gives the front office direction
Last season, the Sixers’ front office was a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Elton Brand’s sway was in constant doubt, ownership loomed large over decision-making, and no one knew who was in charge day-to-day. Jimmy Butler infamously said so when detailing his decision to leave.
While the Sixers declared substantial change after the Celtics sweep, this offseason was showing signs of the same old same old. Brand’s influence over the coaching search was unclear, and despite promises to change, no one in the front office was actually fired. It wasn’t until recently that Philadelphia added new voices under Brand, which was at least… something.
Morey changes the whole dynamic. Sixers’ ownership has put their money where their mouth is, hiring possibly the most expensive coach and the most expensive front office exec despite a league-high incoming tax bill. Morey will oversee basketball operations, which permanently removes Brand from the guise of “lead decision-maker.” Morey would not come to Philadelphia without some assurances regarding his agency, even if he’s not picking his staff.
The Sixers are now Morey’s team. Ownership will need to get out of the way — we can only wait and see — but if nothing else, Morey will be the voice ownership listens to first and last. That is an important development after the “collaborative” single-handedly slammed shut the Sixers’ wide-open title window.
Morey knows how to build a winner. He understands not only analytics, but how to apply analytics to what happens on the court. He’s not, for example, Alex Rucker, the Sixers’ now infamous analytics guru who seemingly played a large role in Al Horford’s arrival last summer. Rucker is expected to leave too, the cherry on top.
Philadelphia is in surprisingly good hands after a season smothered in uncertainty. Now, we await the draft and free agency.