“Coach Nurse and myself will be back, but we’re going to, with Elton Brand and ownership, assess everything and where we can get better,” said Daryl Morey in the aftermath of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ season finale. Through the announcement, the team’s president of basketball operations laid to rest the rumors that he would be ousted. It was a scenario that had great potential to turn into reality, given that the 76ers concluded the season with a 24-58 win record, the team’s worst since the 2015-16 season. In such a situation, a head should have rolled, which it didn’t. However, if Brian Windhorst is to be believed, then Morey keeping his job should not be considered that big of a surprise.
The renowned ESPN sportswriter appeared as a guest on The Stephen A. Smith Show to discuss the upcoming Play-In series. Amid the conversation, the topic of discussion was soon changed to the Philadelphia 76ers, especially Daryl Morey’s ‘non-firing. ’ Despite admitting that he likes Morey, Smith still highlighted his surprise that the 52-year-old continues to hold his job.
In response, Windhorst stated that “I was mildly surprised”. Only mildly, because the analyst explained that he had found out that the ownership “was on board, and agreed with, and endorsed, signed off, whatever you want to call it, with the moves that they made last year”. This means that Daryl Morey did not force the decision of signing Paul George and giving Joel Embiid upon. Everyone agreed. Therefore, if Morey has to be fired, then what could be the reason?
“The two big ones are obviously signing Paul George and extending Joel Embiid, you know. Josh Harris, David Blitzer. It wasn’t like Daryl Morey went to them and said, ‘this is what we have to do, no doubt. We got to do it’, and they disagreed. They were on board with it,” said Morey. “So, I think they are giving him the grace that this was a terrible year, in terms of injury and misfortune”.
Nov 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers Paul George (R) and Joel Embiid (L) look on during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Therefore, Morey was saved this year. However, Brian Windhorst gave a warning. “What I would say to both Daryl and Nick is, ‘you have no margin for error now’. If next year isn’t an excellent year, you’re gonna, that’s probably, I would say, that the hottest seats in the NBA right now, looking into next year, we got to see how this season ends, but right now, the hottest seats in the league are probably Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse,” he pointed out.
The Philadelphia 76ers front office made 2 big decisions in the previous off-season. One was giving Joel Embiid a three-year contract extension worth $193 million. This tied the Cameroonian and Nikola Jokic as the 2nd-highest-paid player of the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, the huge investment barely managed to pay back anything in return. After all, Embiid played only 19 games this season. He was restricted due to issues varying from left knee ailments to illness and foot issues. His absence played a major role in the 76ers setting the poor win record.
Paul George, whose acquisition was the 2nd major offseason move by the team, was not any better. Though he averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, his points average was his lowest in 9 seasons. On top of that, the veteran was only present for 41 games. He missed the rest due to his injury issues that ranged from groin to knee.
For Philly, the 2024-25 season will be defined as one filled with misfortune and missed opportunities. Plagued by injuries, tempo and rhythm became difficult to find at all. The ambitious financial outlay by the front office, from Embiid’s extension to acquiring Paul George, raised expectations. It was Joel Embiid who, after signing the extension, promised that “There is a lot more work to do. You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started”. Well, judging from things, the ‘start’ was not just bad; it was downright disastrous.
The season was a failure, but Daryl Morey cannot solely carry the blame for it. What he can do, however, is ensure the team does not face the same situation next season. Fortunately, the team president has already laid the foundation of that with a promise.
Daryl Morey took responsibility for 76ers’ disastrous season with promise to turn things around: “I will spend every waking hour……”
When Daryl Morey announced after the Philadelphia 76ers’ season finale that he would stay on, he would have known that the announcement would not play well. It would be on the same level if Paul George went on vacation instead of practicing during a bad season (which he did). Therefore, either to soften the blow or simply be truly apologetic, Morey kicked off his remarks by stating, “Tough season, not where we expected to be. Ownership, myself, Coach Nurse Joel, Paul, Tyrese, our whole roster, we expect more. We really feel for the fans who put their heart and soul into this team. We know we’ve let you down.” Now that he knows it, he revealed his desire to fix things.
“For me personally, it is obviously the toughest season of my career,” Morey added. “And I’ll just say, personally, I will spend every waking hour figuring out how to turn this team around going into next season”.
Dec 15, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers resident of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media before a game against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Morey’s plan to turn the team around currently involves several aspects, including depending on the NBA Draft lottery. The 76ers currently hold the fifth-best odds in the May 12 lottery. The team will have to land a top-six pick to keep their first-round selection this year. That is, instead of sending it to the Thunder. As for Paul George and Joel Embiid, the team president does not want to stop building around the latter.
After all, “when you have an MVP-level talent, you need to make aggressive moves to upgrade around that talent in that window”. Do you believe that Daryl Morey deserves the second chance he has been given? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The post Joel Embiid’s Misfortune Provides Surprising Lifeline as National Reporter Confirms Truth Behind 76ers’ Daryl Morey Decision appeared first on EssentiallySports.