The Philadelphia 76ers Daryl Morey as their president of basketball operations. That means he’s essentially in charge of everything involving basketball in the Sixers organization. To be clear, he still lets individuals do their jobs within the organization, but there are situations where it is necessary for him to intervene.
It has come to that type of situation with head coach Doc Rivers’ bench rotation. Ultimately the 76ers front office signed DeAndre Jordan to the roster, but it’s become apparent that having him in the rotation is a problem.
The eye test can prove that but also that numbers prove it too. This is one type that Morey has to overrule River’s and get Jordan out of the rotation and lean on second year big Paul Reed instead.
The Sixers front office needs to get Reed in the rotation.
Obviously, Morey should try his best not to jeopardize his relationship with Rivers, but the right basketball move would be not to play Jordan in the regular rotation moving forward. If he does, it might jeopardize River’s job security.
Jordan was once a great defender, but he’s clearly not that anymore. Reed has shown flashes of being able to do that during his short career. If that eye test isn’t enough to help Morey convince Rivers to make a change, the advance stats should.
Reed has a 101 Defensive Rating Per 100 Possesions, versus Jordan who has a 109 Defensive Rating with the Sixers this season. Reed has a Defensive Box Plus/Minus of plus-2.3 and Jordan has a minus-2.3, which is the worst of any active Sixers player this season. Only Aaron Henry (former two-way contract player) who had a minus-2.5 this year had a worse score than Jordan this season.
Morey needs to save the Sixers and Rivers from the head coach’s loyalty to Jordan. It could very well lead Philly to an early playoff exit if he doesn’t. It’s Morey’s obligation to help the 76ers avoid that so he has to get Rivers to play Reed moving forward.