The state of the Philadelphia 76ers roster has been an everchanging mystery for the past decade, transitioning from unarguably the league's worst team to one of the league's best. However, one thing the team has clearly lacked over the past half-decade is elite management. As much as Sam Hinkie, their general manager for the first half of the 2010s, was criticized for his radical approach of purposely losing, his management team had a clear direction. Hinkie identified that the best way to build a championship roster was to obtain as many lottery picks as possible and obtain a generational talent through the means of the NBA Draft. Hinkie's plan turned out to be pure genius, resulting in the 76ers acquiring Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons over the course of three years. Unfortunately for the 76ers, their next two management hires would drastically disappoint.
Bryan Colangelo, the successor to Sam Hinkie, took over the roster that Sam Hinkie built and was unfairly credited for the team's success. In reality, the Colangelo management was pretty atrocious, missing on draft pick after draft pick, highlighted by the 76ers selecting Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum in the 2017 Draft. However, the biggest stain on Bryan Colangelo's resume would stretch way beyond any poor management decisions he ever made. In the summer of 2018, Colangelo was caught up in a social media scandal, in which he was exposed for running multiple burner accounts, from which he was leaking confidential information relating to the team and hurling negative criticism towards his own players! This scandal would create a rift between the 76ers management and players, eventually leading to Colangelo "resigning" from his position.
Elton Brand's, Bryan Colangelo's replacement, stint in Philadelphia could be best described as an emotional rollercoaster. Elton Brand immediately transformed the 76ers into serious title contenders by making trades for star players Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. The Philadelphia 76ers under Elton Brand proved to be a huge success, pushing the eventual champion Toronto Raptors to the final seconds of Game 7, and only losing at the hands of one of the greatest shots in the history of basketball.
Nevertheless, Brand went onto essentially undo every positive decision he had made in the 2019 offseason. Brand elected to let Jimmy Butler, arguably their best player throughout that impressive playoff run, walk in free agency, and then turned around and grossly overpaid an underperforming Tobias Harris and an aging Al Horford. Criticism of Elton Brand's decision making rose to an all-time high during the 2020 NBA playoffs, which saw the 76ers get embarrassed in the first round, while the Jimmy Butler led Miami Heat surprised the basketball world by reaching the NBA Finals.
The combination of these events led to the 76ers hiring Daryl Morey as their President of Basketball operations. Morey, the previous general manager of the Houston Rockets and MIT alumni, is widely recognized as one of the best basketball minds in the business and is often credited for the analytical revolution in the sport of basketball. Morey took a very mathematical and efficiency-based approach to roster construction, and is essentially single-handedly responsible for the elimination of the midrange jumpshot from modern NBA offences.
Looking at his resume, there is no denying that Daryl Morey is elite at his job, although there is one glaring issue. The roster of the Philadelphia 76ers violates every single step of Morey's mathematical formula. The Philadelphia 76ers have two All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but no knockdown shooters and zero resemblance of any kind of proven perimeter shot creator. Their best player, Joel Embiid, is the best post-up player in the league, while Morey's Rockets utilized the post-up as frequently as today's generation utilizes typewriters. Morey is arguably the biggest advocate for the three-point shot and now his second-best player, Ben Simmons, is apparently allergic to it. There is a clear clash of interests in Philadelphia, and Morey's five-year contract gives me the inclination that his interests will be prioritized.
Does this signing mark the end of the Embiid-Simmons partnership? Most likely. Both players are elite in their own way, but watching them on the court reminds me of a child trying to forcefully fit a puzzle piece in the wrong place. Morey will most likely attempt to flip one of his star players for a more perimeter-oriented player. Who that might be? I have no clue. Maybe he tries to acquire a complementary piece like Chris Paul, or he might be in pursuit of a much bigger fish, like his old friend James Harden. Maybe he lucks out and finds that player with the 21st pick in this year's draft. Who knows what the future holds for the 76ers? Daryl Morey struck gold when he traded for James Harden in 2012, and the Philadelphia 76ers are relying on him to work his magic one more time.
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