The Philadelphia 76ers made a drastic first step to kick off what is expected to be a critical offseason, parting ways with team president Daryl Morey after nearly six years following their quick ouster in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. However, no one seems to realize that the franchise actually just generated a brand new problem they will have to deal with sooner than later.
The ownership group of the 76ers, led by Josh Harris, remains the same. In coming up with the bold decision to fire Morey after he had just recently agreed to a contract extension, there is an implication that they did not see eye to eye with the longtime executive. Now, as they look for the next person to lead them up top, the probable result is that the team will simply go with someone who will be a "yes person" to the owners.
The 76ers will be led by Bob Myers, the architect behind four championships with the Golden State Warriors, in their deep hunt for their next team president, but that is no guarantee that he will be solely guided by his independent judgment in that exhaustive search. That makes it all the more plausible that the next lead executive will not be that much different from the ownership group disposition-wise.
The 76ers just created a new problem by firing Daryl Morey
Morey pulled off some savvy moves over the years, but his recent misses are so resounding that they will always overshadow his good deeds and ultimately define the narrative over his tenure with the 76ers. Maxing out Paul George and Joel Embiid, giving up on Jared McCain, and jettisoning young players like Julian Champagnie who eventually ended up being great role players elsewhere were his likely downfall.
Be that as it may, Morey is not the only one who should shoulder the blame. All of these moves bore the imprimatur of Josh Harris and company. As such, with the same people still the ones at the helm, there is no reason to believe that the next team president will be someone who will sternly stand his ground and be recalcitrant to the ownership group when it comes to making tough and costly calls.
Hopefully, this fear is more contrived than real. However, the 76ers brass up top has perennially disappointed that at this juncture, a repeat of what got Morey fired is likely to happen to their next team president, whoever that may be. After all, with the ownership group staying the same, the result will probably be not that much different.
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