Daryl Morey would not give James Harden a contract extension this 12 months. After standing agency, Morey obtained an extension of his personal.
Morey left the Houston Rockets to join the Philadelphia 76ers within the fall of 2020 as their president of basketball operations. Since then, the workforce has had success, twice reaching the second spherical of the playoffs and ending with the Japanese Convention’s finest report in 2020-21. He additionally noticed Joel Embiid win his first MVP award final season.
He is additionally navigated some rocky conditions. A 12 months into the job, Ben Simmons announced he’d by no means play for the Sixers once more, and after a prolonged holdout, Morey managed to flip Simmons and the three-plus years remaining on his max contract for James Harden.
This summer season, Harden determined he wished out, after he claimed Morey and Philadelphia reneged on a promised max contract. Morey waited him out as effectively, getting a bundle of draft picks, function gamers and expiring contracts from the LA Clippers for the disgruntled star.
Morey deserves credit score for a wide range of strikes, together with drafting rising star Tyrese Maxey with the No. 21 decide in his first draft with the 76ers in 2020, together with invaluable backup Paul Reed at decide No. 58. He is been adept at getting the Sixers out of pricy contracts, dumping big-money offers for Simmons, Harden, Al Horford and P.J. Tucker over the past three years, leaving them with probably $50 million in wage cap area subsequent summer season.
The negatives? Private relationships. It is not a fantastic signal that two completely different stars have been so alienated by the group that they selected to sit down out and pay fines somewhat than play. That mentioned, that is additionally Ben Simmons and James Harden we’re speaking about.
Morey additionally cost the team second-round picks after the NBA concluded that Philadelphia had tampered throughout free company in the summertime of 2022. Maybe the most important knock on the Morey period is the dearth of playoff success regardless of having Embiid and a star-studded roster.
However possession is proud of Morey, and has persistently stood behind their workforce president throughout his participant conflicts. He is locked in for 4 extra seasons after this one, and after this season, the workforce can be fully gamers Morey has acquired, apart from Embiid.
The Sixers have dedicated to Morey. Now he is obtained to decide to constructing an NBA champion.