PhilaOwnsBoston wrote:I think the Sixers and their fans should be happy they hired Daryl Morey to be president of basketball operations and I think he's a very good and accomplished executive. However, just because you think someone is good at their job, doesn't mean they shouldn't be criticized when they make mistakes.
If one's to analyze his work in his first year as prez of basketball ops, it was very underwhelming and unimpressive, and I think you can make a very strong case it was flat out bad, considering the expectations hiring a guy like that is accompanied with.
I think in the offseason he did a solid job. Not great, I don't throw that word around lightly and typically only use it when executives make trades to acquire superstar franchise-changing players, or get rid of older players for a massive haul of assets. But he did a solid job. He found a taker for Horford. Granted, OKC had an "open for business" sign in their window, so it's not like it took crazy maneuvering to pull that off, but he did, so give him credit. Swapping Richardson for Curry was a solid move too. Not franchise-changing, but solid. Signing Dwight Howard was a meh move at best.
However, once the season began, that is where the positives ended. Morey could GM for another 20 years and he would never make another mistake as terrible as he did by backing out of the James Harden sweepstakes and allowing him to go to a division rival. Honestly, it was one of the worst decisions in Philly sports history, and this is something I've taken time to think about, no hyperbole usage whatsoever here. Think about it. When, in your lifetimes, has a top 5 player ever had the Sixers as their #1 preferred destination? It's never happened in my lifetime. James Harden, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, and a perfect compliment to Joel Embiid who was having an MVP season, wanted to become a Sixer. And Daryl Morey punked out because he didn't want to match the Nets' draft pick compensation.
Now, there are some fans who tell themselves that "The Nets were never trading him to the Sixers!" to make themselves feel better about missing out on Harden. That claim is baseless and unsubstantiated. There were two sources, neither of them Shams or Woj, who said Fertitta didn't want to trade him to the Sixers. Not that he refused to. Significant difference. Those were Kyle Neubeck, and some random dude Jason Dumas out in California. There are plenty of teams who don't want to trade with other teams, but they do anyway. I'm sure the Cowboys didn't want to trade with the Eagles and give them DeVonta Smith on draft night, but they did because the price justified the trade. Fertitta didn't get rich by being dumb. He's not going to hurt his own franchise out of spite. And don't forget, Ben Simmons was informed the day of the trade that he should expect to be traded. So for the "Houston was never trading him to Philly" to add up, that would mean that through the entire negotiating process, the Rockets told Morey that they're willing to trade him to Philly, otherwise he wouldn't have even wasted his time. So you're telling me they tell him through the entire process they'll trade him to Philly and then at the last minute laugh at him and tell him "Haha! We're not trading him to Philly even though you have the best offer! Later, loser!" and hang up the phone? Please. No one operates like that. Harden isn't a Sixer because the Sixers didn't give the best offer. The Nets offered a massive haul of draft picks, which is very attractive. If the Sixers matched the draft compensation with Simmons, Harden would've been a Sixer.
This is an offensive league now. You win in the NBA with guards and wings who can score and create their own shot. The Sixers had a chance to get one of the best EVER, and blew it. And who knows how long the league will think so highly of Ben Simmons. Eventually, teams and GMs are going to lose confidence they can extract more out of him offensively. You can't just hold on to them being able to trade him for a superstar guard whenever they want, it's not realistic. And the Harden sweepstakes was only between two teams: the Sixers and Nets. If they pursue a guy like Lillard or Beal a lot more teams are going to be involved.
Daryl Morey is still a good executive. Of course he is. But when you hire big fish, you hire them to go big fish hunting. You don't hire a guy like Daryl Morey to play swap the role player. You win in the NBA with superstars and he was brought here to find a way to land them. And in his first opportunity, he failed. Only adding George Hill in-season when you're the #1 seed simply isn't good enough.
It's a shame, because I really don't see their road to a championship in the next couple seasons. If the Nets ever get healthy, the Sixers have no chance against them, now that you allowed them to get Harden. They likely won't be the favorites to acquire any superstar player on the trade block with Ben Simmons and picks being the best they can offer. They have no cap room, and their draft picks are going to be at the bottom of the first round.
I think Sixers fans should feel a lot better about being in Morey's hands than Colangelo's or Brand's, but in his first year I think he was very unimpressive, especially given his pedigree.
Garbage take since there are just as many reports that he thought he had the trade done and didn't get a chance to match. Reports even that agents were informed. You're whole take is off of an unknown situation.
Just a garbage take.
