Should the Sixers Replace Daryl Morey With Bob Myers?
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment hired Bob Myers as a consultant for the Washington Commanders during the first season of HBSE’s ownership in 2024.
The former Golden State Warriors general manager developed a good working relationship with Josh Harris. How good? Bill Simmons believes Myers might take over for Daryl Morey as the primary front office decision maker for the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I just feel like he’s looming with the Sixers thing, and I don’t think I’m alone. There’s been some Bob Myers Philly buzz that I think has been building because I think he had a good experience with Josh Harris.” –Bill Simmons
While no decision is imminent, Simmons mentioned the possibility of Morey or Nick Nurse as a fall guy for a rough Sixers season in 2024-25.
Would a new GM or President of Basketball Operations change the course of a struggling franchise?
Bob Myers
Myers stepped into a favorable situation in San Francisco when the Warriors promoted him to GM in April 2011.
The Warriors had drafted Steph Curry in 2009 and Klay Thompson in 2011. Myers shrewdly selected Draymond Green with the 35th-overall pick in 2012.
The dynasty soon took shape, and Myers won the NBA Executive of the Year Award after his first title in 2015 and after his second title in 2017. The Bay Area native and former UCLA star walked away from his role in 2023 with six NBA Finals appearances and four championship rings in 11 seasons as GM.
He hoped to put aside the pressure and stress of a full-time front office role to spend time with his family at age 48. He’s worked for ESPN in addition to his recent consultation with the Commanders.
Adrian Wojnarowski predicted Myers would become “one of the most pursued executives in modern North American professional sports history” if he ever decided to join another NBA front office.
“Myers’ blend of leadership, talent evaluation and the respect that he commands at every level of the industry — ownership, front office, coaches, players and agents — makes him a uniquely appealing part of a potential ownership group or front office.” –Adrian Wojnarowski (May 2023)
The Sixers have somehow found drama at every turn during Harris’ ownership tenure since 2011. After putting the Ben Simmons and James Harden sagas behind them, the 2024-25 season has presented a whole new (yet eerily familiar) set of challenges.
Would Harris really pull the plug on Morey so soon after the addition of Paul George looked like it had completed a big three capable of winning a championship? Bob Myers and his championship pedigree make a persuasive argument.
Is Daryl Morey A Scapegoat?
The Sixers haven’t met their playoff expectations since hiring Morey in 2020. The former Houston Rockets GM has made his fair share of moves to win the immediate favor of NBA analysts.
He cleared a supposed albatross contract by moving Al Horford. Acquiring James Harden for Ben Simmons looked like a monumental victory for the Sixers given the circumstances. Morey even landed the top free agent on the market in July by bringing in Paul George.
None of it has mattered. Factors both inside and outside the control of Morey and the organization have sputtered every season with an ironic sense of repetition.
Should Harris hold Morey responsible for Embiid’s seemingly constant injury trouble, the egocentric blow-ups of Simmons and Harden, or Philadelphia’s repeated near misses in the NBA Playoffs?
It might not seem fair, but professional sports rarely do.
Related Content: A Nick Nurse Quote That Summarizes the Sixers in 2024-25
The decision whether or not to move on from Morey isn’t necessarily about casting blame for the team’s failures in 2024-25 or in previous seasons. It’s about identifying the best path to move the franchise past an ugly slog of early playoff exits and drama off the court.
When Josh Harris determines his course of action, he’ll more intently consider whether or not Bob Myers will join the Sixers and whether it’s the best move to shape the roster to win the NBA Finals.
The Mike Missanelli Show Weighs In
What would replacing Daryl Morey with Bob Myers indicate for the future of the Sixers?
Bill Simmons stated a potential goal in hiring Myers to move things in a better overall direction before the Sixers can blow up the entire operation.
A talented executive joining the front office won’t magically fix Embiid’s knee problems, however. Like so many things within the organization, the success of a potential front office shakeup rests so heavily on Embiid’s health.
The Mike Missanelli Show discussed the reports about a potentially monumental front office shift.
“Here’s the problem though. Whether they bring in Bob Myers, whether they bring in anybody, aren’t they a little bit handcuffed the next few years with the Paul George contract, with the Joel Embiid contract?” -Bill Colarulo
Missanelli believes big picture changes are imminent because of the severity of Embiid’s health problems.
“You’ve got to be creative and move guys for less just to get it off your payroll. In my view, it’s now gotten to a rebuild stage. I never thought I’d say that. We’ve seen the best a Joel Embiid era is going to be… You don’t get younger. You don’t get healthier.” -Mike Missanelli
Morey will almost definitely oversee Philadelphia’s moves ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline on February 7. However, is he just going to make small-scale moves on borrowed time as Josh Harris and the Sixers clear the way for Bob Myers?
