What does Daryl Morey mean for the future of the Philadelphia 76ers?

How does Daryl Morey’s arrival change the Philadelphia 76ers’ trajectory?

Sixers fans around the world recently heard news that they would’ve previously thought was only wishful thinking. Daryl Morey is the President of Basketball Operations with the Philadelphia 76ers. Sixers Twitter was a storm after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the Sixers were in “advanced talks” with Morey last week Wednesday.

It’s not a secret that the consensus amongst Philly fans has been that the Sixers’ failure is due largely (not solely) to having an incompetent front office. Even if it wasn’t as aggressive as fans had hoped, there had been positive change. The hiring of Peter Dinwiddie and Prosper Karangwa were among the changes made, in addition to a change in responsibilities for Ned Cohen and Alex Rucker, the latter of whom has recently been fired, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

I think most fans were content with these changes. Even with Morey stepping down, we had accepted it was unlikely to get much better than it was. This was due partially to Morey strongly implying to the media that him stepping down meant time off with family. It was also due to many fans simply not trusting Josh Harris, David Blitzer and Scott O’Neil to make the right decision.

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Fortunately, they did.

It seems the fanbase has a new sense of optimism. Hope. This is definitely justified. The question does remain: What does Morey’s addition mean for the Sixers.

Morey is a top executive around the league — some would argue that he’s the best of the bunch. If anyone is equipped to untangle the big knot that is the Sixers’ roster, despite the terrible cap situation, it’s him.

In his last few years, Morey has always tried to surround superstar James Harden with the best possible players to complement him and produce winning basketball. This is possibly the greatest issue the Sixers face: the right players haven’t been placed around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, so we haven’t had the chance to see their talent maximized.

It’s quite possible that as soon as he can, he will be looking to fix this and aggressively attack the market to produce a championship winning roster. Daryl Morey has been quoted as saying:

"“If you’ve got even a 5 percent chance to win the title — and that group includes a very small number of teams every year — you’ve gotta be focused all on winning the title.”"

With the talent the Sixers have, I believe it’s fair to say they do have a chance at the championship, regardless of the fit of the roster right now. Morey going all in to get a shot at the championship this offseason wouldn’t be a surprise. However, I’m not sure if this is the best route. If you just hang tight, I’ll tell you why.

The next factor in the Sixers’ future success is the coaching. Brett Brown has been thought by many to have been a significant cause of the 76ers’ failure. This excuse is no longer available as the Sixers have built a juggernaut coaching staff this offseason led by Doc Rivers, NBA champion and the coach with the 11th most wins of all-time.

He is supported by Dave Joerger, a former head coach who boasts a 59.76 percent win percentage in his three seasons with the Grizzlies, and Sam Cassell, a three-time NBA champion as a player and a Clippers assistant who was widely considered to be a great head coach candidate earlier this offseason.

This strong coaching staff could be key in unlocking the Sixers’ potential as championship contenders. Hopefully, players will be held accountable and a winning culture will be established. The Sixers don’t have an on-court identity and their halfcourt offense seemed not to exist last season. Rivers and his staff have the capability of fixing this and finally achieving the success that Philadelphia wants.

I also believe the players will return with a new sense of energy and optimism after the front office and coaching staff changes. The players get to hear a different voice, voices that warrant respect due to their past success rather than the same coach who coached the Sixers through a 10-72 season — tanking or not.

Additionally, the players will see the organization’s commitment to their success in both the coaching and the front office changes, and I’m sure this will motivate them further. This isn’t to say I expect every player to come back twice as good. I’m simply saying that the players will be much hungrier to win then they have been.

I’d love to see Daryl Morey transform this team into Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and a bunch of guys who can shoot, dribble and pass well enough to contend for a championship. I just don’t see how viable that is at the moment. Every Sixers player right now, except maybe Mathisse Thybulle, Josh Richardson and Shake Milton, would be selling for lower than they’re worth.

Morey has implied it himself at his introductory press conference on Monday that it would be beneficial to analyze the roster and see how they play before making any moves.

"“We wanna increase our understanding [of the roster] before we start to make those moves.”"

I still think that the Sixers should do what they can to offload and add what they can this offseason. However, I think the best strategy would be to go all in on the 2021-22 season. Harris and Horford’s contracts will each have a year less on them. If Rivers can find a way to get the most out of them this offseason, this could lead to the Sixers getting a lot more back for them. With five picks this year, it also gives Philly the chance to develop more assets to trade off to build a championship contender next season.

I understand this is a hard ask for Sixers fans after years of the process. However, I’m not advocating for the Sixers to tank. I’m advocating for the Sixers to play as hard as they can, discovering different ways to use different pieces and developing every player. If this gets us to the finals, then so be it. If not, then it’s okay because 2021-22 is when it all pays off.