Philadelphia 76ers: 3 Rockets Daryl Morey might target

1. Chris Paul

I know Chris Paul is not a Rocket, but hear me out. Since OKC was eliminated in the Bubble, his name has been brought up continuously as a possible fit for Philly. Remember, Daryl Morey was responsible for bringing Chris Paul to Houston from the Clippers and then later trading him for Russell Westbrook. The irony is that Morey is the one who gave Paul a four-year, $160 million contract as a Rocket. For him to play that contract out in a Sixers uniform would be as ironic as Paul playing again for Doc Rivers.

Could Morey reach out to Oklahoma City’s management and work out a deal to reunite Chris Paul with Rivers and form a big three with Embiid and Simmons? Why not? It makes sense that all of these veteran coaches and a veteran player like Paul would be the right recipe for success in elevating Embiid and Simmons.

With Daryl Morey, Doc Rivers, Sam Cassell, and Chris Paul, there’d be a mountain range of leadership the two young stars would have to respect. If they didn’t, Simmons and Embiid could expect an avalanche of accountability, something Brett Brown was unable to establish. Ideally, Paul could demonstrate to Simmons what a true floor general plays like and make Simmons less likely to indulge in empty triple-doubles by setting an unequivocal point guard example.

What would it take for Morey to bring Chris Paul to the Sixers? Either, the Thunder would have to be willing to take Tobias Harris, who has been less injury prone than Paul and is younger, or take Al Horford and another player or draft picks. With Danilo Gallinari most likely skipping town as a free agent, the power forward position is open in OKC for Horford or Harris to fill. If Morey’s reputation comes as advertised, he can make it happen.

Conclusion

The hope is that Morey will be the basketball mind that is able to see the forest from the trees, whereas Elton Brand could not. On top of this assertion, the Morey hiring prevents Doc Rivers from being the judge, jury, and executioner of basketball operations in the Sixers’ organization, which backfired in Los Angeles when he made suspect moves with so much power on the sidelines and in the front office.

Morey’s tenure in Houston brought analytics to the forefront of NBA conversations, and it would be a gift should he lure one of the three mentioned players away from their current teams. Look at it this way — if he can’t bring a former Rocket player to the Sixers, maybe he can make office space for someone else who was once employed by Houston: Sam Hinkie.