Josh Harris and David Blitzer met with Daryl Morey on Tuesday and decided it was best for the Philadelphia Sixers to move forward with a new president of basketball operations. Not long after ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania broke the news, Harris released a statement that ended with:
To our fans, your frustration and disappointment are understandable and warranted. We have fallen well short of our own expectations and failed to deliver in the way this city deserves. That bothers me deeply and I have confidence in Bob to establish a path forward for our franchise.
The second sentence in the above paragraph stands out the most, though it's nothing that fans didn't already know. Falling short of expectations and failing to deliver in the way Philly deserves might actually be an understatement. The disappointments keep piling up. The first-round series win over the Celtics felt good, but it was a temporary feeling that the Knicks quickly erased.
The Sixers have a lot they need to do to get back on the track they thought they were on when Morey took over in 2020. It's a positive sign, at least, that Bob Myers, the four-time champion with the Warriors as GM, is leading the search for Philadelphia's new decision-maker. In the meantime, he will be in charge.
Sixers knew it was time for a change after years of disappointment
Morey leaves Philadelphia with a 28-26 postseason record, having failed to build a team capable of making it past the second round. It's been three years since the Sixers won a game in the semifinals, and it will be at least four years until they do after getting swept by the Knicks.
Again, that wasn't the vision Philly had in mind when it traded for James Harden or signed Paul George to a four-year maximum deal in 2024 free agency, and certainly not when Joel Embiid signed a three-year extension.
Morey was the driving force behind those decisions, and the Sixers are still dealing with those consequences. That won't change now that he's gone, as whoever takes over next will have their work cut out for them, including trying to find a trade for one of the team's aging stars.
It's not going to happen overnight, but with the right vision, Philadelphia can build something around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe that fans are proud of. Specifically, a team that won't just make it past the second round (which would be an accomplishment in itself at this point), but can start to give fans the kind of success they've waited so long for.