Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey held his annual end-of-season press conference on Wednesday. Morey had a plethora of topics to address, including the team's underwhelming end to the season, the firing of coach Doc Rivers, and the impending free agency of James Harden, among others. Here's a look at a few key takeaways from the session.
Firing Doc Rivers was Morey's idea
Very early on in his availability, Morey revealed that the firing of Doc Rivers was his idea, and that he brought the idea to ownership, and then ownership signed off on it.
"My job is to evaluate everything and we felt like that was the best move for helping us get to our goals going forward," Morey said. "It was carefully thought out and I recommended it to ownership and they accepted it."
This is interesting because sometimes those decisions are made by ownership, but that wasn't the case here. Rivers was hired shortly before Morey was back in 2020, so he technically didn't choose Rivers. Now, he'll get the opportunity to pick his own coach. We'll see how well that works out for Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid was "shocked" by Rivers' dismissal
Following Philadelphia's loss to the Celtics in Game 7 over the weekend, Joel Embiid was very supportive of Rivers when asked about the coach's job security moving forward.
"I thought he's done a fantastic job," Embiid said of Rivers. "He came in, I think we've gotten better over the years, I thought he's done a great job and I don't make the decisions. I think he should be fine. We got a great relationship and you look at the way he handled the whole situation that we had a year or two ago, I thought he kept the team afloat. He's been a great leader for all of us. A great motivator."
Less than 48 hours after Embiid made those comments, Rivers was axed, and the star center was apparently very surprised by the decision.
"[Joel] was very close with coach Rivers, and yeah, he was shocked about the change," Morey said. "And it's my job to help convince him that the new coach is someone that he'll have a great relationship with as well."
Embiid blossomed from an All-Star to a perennial MVP candidate under Rivers, so it's not surprising that he liked playing for him. Will the decision to fire a coach who had Embiid's support be something that could ultimately contribute to a rift between player and organization? Only time will tell.
Sixers want to re-sign Harden
Unsurprisingly, James Harden reportedly plans to turn down his player option for next season and pursue a new long-term deal in free agency, and unsurprisingly the Sixers will try to re-sign the star guard.
"We can't have those discussions yet, but we are interested in bringing him back," Morey said of Harden.
The Sixers are in a tough spot with Harden, who is fresh off another playoff flameout. Signing him to a long-term, big money deal could be a mistake, as he has already lost a step, and he has yet to show that he can get it done when it matters most. But, he was solid for the Sixers as a primary facilitator throughout the season, and the team would have a tough time replacing his production if he were to sign elsewhere. With the reigning MVP on the roster, you want to do everything you can to maximize the team around him, and losing Harden for nothing would be a blow, especially after the team gave up a lot to acquire him last year.
Brad Botkin of CBS Sports summarized the Harden situation in Philadelphia pretty succinctly:
Again, the Sixers don't have a lot of options here. Morey always wanted to get back on the Harden bus, and it's not going to be easy to get off. It sounds like the Sixers are going to have to pay what will probably be a very steep fare and just hope the bus doesn't break down entirely.
A year ago when Harden took a pay cut in order to help the Sixers build out the roster and signed a two-year deal with a player option, we knew we were going to be here, and now here we are. It will be interesting to see exactly how Harden's free agency shakes out as it will have a massive impact on the Sixers regardless of what he decides to do.
The search for a new coach could take a bit
The Sixers plan to take their time when it comes to naming a Rivers replacement.
"We're taking a careful process with the coach," Morey said of the situation. "We do not think it will move quickly. We have to be careful with the process word but it is true."
There are several viable options available right now, which Morey acknowledged was at least part of the reason that the decision was made to move on from Rivers. Several coaches currently on the market have recent championship experience, and that could be beneficial for a Sixers squad struggling to get over the second-round hump.
Morey said that several coaches have already reached out to the Sixers about the job -- a gig that he feels should be extremely attractive due to the caliber of the roster in place.
"There's like 26 teams that would rather have our roster," Morey said. "We're starting with the MVP of the league. The draft lottery yesterday was hoping to get a top pick to hope that player becomes as good as the MVP of the league. We're starting in a great spot."
Since the Sixers are a team with championship expectations, it seems somewhat unlikely that they'll go with an unproven or rookie coach. A more established coach with ample postseason experience is probably the direction that they'll go in. Either way, it doesn't sound like we should expect a decision any time too soon.
