The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh from getting booted out of the playoffs via a clean sweep, made a bold step by firing Daryl Morey. The longtime executive ends his stint with the franchise which lasted for nearly six years, and now, the team is on the hunt for a new head poncho to lead them in what is reckoned to be a very crucial offseason.
Yet in firing Morey, the 76ers actually failed to address the real elephant in the room. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the decision to trade Jared McCain –– one of the most contentious moves by the front office which ultimately factored in heavily in axing Morey –– actually had the seal of approval of the ownership group.
What does this point to? Well, while Morey is inarguably a part of the problem, the 76ers did not really fully rid themselves of the forces that led them to have a shaky footing up top. The ownership remains insulated from blame for some reason, and that is something which people tend to gloss over by only magnifying on the fact that Morey is no longer a part of their brain trust.
The 76ers failed to address the real problem by only firing Daryl Morey
It appears that the 76ers ownership is trying to forcibly discard all of their negative baggage onto Morey given that he has already been jettisoned, which is a ridiculous display of impunity. Josh Harris and his cohorts are equally culpable, if not more, than the longtime executive. After all, it does not take much mental exercise, if at all, to know that the ownership has the final say over the team executives most of the time when it comes to making decisions.
Heck, the main justification for their decision to trade McCain was to cut costs. That stance is not only limited to that trade, though. This has been the overarched attitude by the ownership group for quite some time now, and it has only become prejudicial to the team's best interests.
The root cause of the problem is the ownership itself, and no matter who they install to succeed Morey, as long as those people remain at the helm, any and all changes figure to be merely surface-level ones. At this point, there is no other way to get rid of that core issue but to hope that a takeover ensues, which is unfortunately a tedious process.
There is no exonerating Daryl Morey from the many questionable moves he has made over the years, but the ownership group outlasts him in that regard. As such, they should shoulder more of the blame, and pinning it all on their now-former team president is all but a whimsical ploy to evade accountability.
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