Philadelphia Sixers fans still aren't over the sting of getting swept by the Knicks in the second round, and probably won't be for a while, but at least there's a silver lining now. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Daryl Morey met with Josh Harris and David Blitzer on Tuesday, and the sides agreed it was best to part ways.
The organization is now looking for a new president of basketball operations, a search that Charania reported Bob Myers will lead. Remember, this is the Myers who led the Warriors to their four titles as GM, so you can say he has a pretty good track record.
This change in organizational structure might not have happened if it weren't for New York embarrassing Philadelphia, especially with the Sixers coming off an impressive series comeback win over the Celtics. Maybe Morey would've been out even if Philly had made the series against the Knicks more competitive, but still lost.
We'll never know, but what we do know is that losing like that, especially to a division rival, is enough to make you step back and re-evaluate everything on a deeper level than normal. The Sixers did just that and decided it was time for Morey to go.
Knicks sweeping Sixers might've pushed Morey right out the door
You certainly can't blame all of Philadelphia's issues the past few years on Morey (after all, he did draft Tyrese Maxey!), but he put them in quite an unfavorable position. Things really started to unravel with the James Harden trade, when the Sixers acquired four players from the Clippers that they had no intention of keeping long-term, to keep the books clear and make a splash in free agency.
Well, that player turned out to be Paul George, whom Philadelphia signed to a four-year, $212 million maximum contract. It didn't take long for Morey and the Sixers to regret that one, just like the decision to extend Joel Embiid to a three-year, $193 million deal later that offseason. Neither move aged the way Morey thought it would. One needs to go this summer.
Rather than let Morey have a chance to try to sort things out, the Sixers made the right call to end things two days after what served as yet another reminder of how far Philly still has to go. A change was necessary.
New York helped highlight that, but don't expect Sixers fans to send the Knicks a thank-you card. That won't happen.
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