Recently, Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers went to the Rich Eisen show for an interview. Rivers was asked what were some of the factors that led to his decision to come to the franchise in the off-season. He went on to cite his close relationship with 76ers President Daryl Morey, and later said this to deepen his statement:
“Daryl has had a lot of business so far that I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do this,’ and he moves on. This is the type of relationship you should have when you have a coach and management, I think it works like this ”.
Some of the former Sixers offices, led by people like Brian Colangelo or Elton Brand, were very convinced in their conviction of collaboration, with not just a figure giving the final say. Although this seems to be a positive nature, the whole ideal of collaboration has been linked to the Six making many mistakes in the past.
An example of past failed collaborative efforts can be found with former Sixers players vice president Marc Eversley. Eversley was reported as a big voice / factor in the previous decision-making room, like Markelle Fultz’s writing or Al Horford’s signing – both of which are now viewed with regret.
The Sixers now have a completely renovated front office, led by a talented basketball mind at Daryl Morey. Although things have definitely changed since some of those decisions, it is somewhat surprising to see the Sixers returning to an openly collaborative effort so quickly.
It is also important to note how much Doc Rivers has publicly praised the Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid duo. Rivers has alluded to training the two All-Stars many times since his arrival in Philadelphia. How much weight Doc Doc’s word carries in the Sixers’ front office can make or destroy the Sixers by making a drastic decision for what it seems.
This quote officially confirms that we can start connecting commercial machines at will again. It is not surprising that Daryl Morey is exploring the NBA scene to improve his squad; he has made countless moves since becoming a basketball executive in early 2010. The main question to be answered would probably be what kind of move is he considering? Are we about to make a big hit, possibly involving someone like Bradley Beal? Is it a subtle move to land the Sixers with a quality actor like PJ Tucker? This remains to be seen.
From the looks of it, it is very likely that the current Sixers will not end this season as built now. The squad has many holes, like its perimeter defense, and it lacks a great quality that it can shoot, among other factors. The NBA negotiation deadline is not until March 25th, so we’ll see what Daryl Morey has up his sleeve in the coming months.