The Philadelphia 76ers fired Daryl Morey following their ugly second-round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks. And according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, they fired Morey despite him having two years left on his deal. They ate the cost of the final two years just to shove him out the door right now.
For years, the Sixers have underperformed. It didn’t matter if Joel Embiid was healthy, if Ben Simmons was healthy, if they had Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, James Harden, or Tyrese Maxey. The team still failed to make it out of the second round of the playoffs. It was time for them to move on from Morey.
But the latest rumor regarding the years they willingly paid out just to see him go adds another layer to how messy the organization has become.
76ers fired Daryl Morey with two years left on his contract
Fischer’s report noted that the Sixers handed Morey an extension in 2023. For context, the organization hired Morey in 2020, and from that point to the time of his extension, the 76ers made it to the second round and lost in three straight seasons.
Since then, the Sixers got bounced in the first round, missed the playoffs, and then beat the Boston Celtics just to lose in the second round all over again. Now, Morey will be looking for a new job.
But again, according to Fischer, the 76ers fired him with a couple of years left on his extension. The deal was supposed to take him through the 2027-28 season, but instead, the Sixers paid all that extra money to let him go right now.
“League sources say Morey had two expensive years left on his contract through the 2027-28 season thanks to an extension he signed in December 2023,” Fischer wrote. “Sixers ownership nonetheless decided it would stomach the cost of parting ways immediately.”
The Sixers aren’t in a terrible spot heading into the post-Morey era. They still have Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, who look like they could form an elite backcourt for years to come.
But Embiid’s contract is brutal, especially since he can’t stay on the court. And the same goes for Paul George’s money, even though he was solid in the postseason this year.
Philadelphia’s new general manager will have to figure out the best way to get the most out of Maxey and Edgecombe.
But regardless of all that, the Sixers still fumbled the Morey era. They’re going to pay a bunch of extra money just to let him walk, and that’s a brutal pill to swallow.
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