Despite their NBA-worst 2-11 record, the Sixers haven’t had any internal discussions about the possibility of replacing head coach Nick Nurse or president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, multiple sources tell Sam Amick, David Aldridge, and Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Nurse, who won a title with the Raptors in 2019, was hired by Philadelphia during the 2023 offseason to replace Doc Rivers. He led the team to a 47-35 regular season record last season, which was only good for a play-in spot. The 76ers ultimately secured the No. 7 seed and fell in the first round of the playoffs to the No. 2 Knicks.
The slow start this fall has dropped Nurse’s overall regular season record with the team to 49-46 (.516).
Morey was named the Sixers’ president of basketball operations in November 2020. The club has won at least 47 games in every season since then, but has never advanced beyond the second round of the postseason.
Morey essentially reset the roster this past offseason around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but injuries have limited the availability of Philadelphia’s stars – Embiid, Maxey, and Paul George – and the new-look supporting cast has struggled.
The expectation going forward, Amick, Aldridge, and Weiss say, is that everyone in the organization, including Nurse and Morey, will “take a look in the mirror and see what role they have in making the team better.”
The Athletic’s story also corroborates many of the details about Monday’s team meeting reported earlier today by Shams Charania of ESPN, including Maxey calling out Embiid for being consistently late to team activities.
Team and league sources tell The Athletic that Maxey stressed the need for Embiid to set a better example as the Sixers’ leader, given his importance to the program, essentially telling the former MVP, “Joel, you know I love you. But it starts with you, and your habits.” Embiid “mostly agreed” with Maxey’s message, per Amick, Aldridge, and Weiss.
While that discussion between Maxey and Embiid was an important aspect of the meeting, there was also a focus on holding the rest of the roster accountable, according to The Athletic’s trio. The contributions from rookie Jared McCain have been a pleasant surprise during the season’s first month, but many of the team’s other role players – including offseason veteran additions like Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson – have been ineffective.
Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson – have been ineffective.
Well, this could be fixed by cutting one and signing Dennis Smith Jr….!!!
As for the real reason of the article…….
Morey should stay until the end of the season, but Nurse….. the only thing I see with Nurse is a Raging Dumpster Fire….I simply do not see the good that he brings to the table!!! Zip!!! Zero!!!! Nada!!!
Dennis Smith Jr.? I hope this is a joke
Also, how exactly is this Nurse’s fault? Please explain what you wish he would do differently
I mean did he even offer to give his knee to Joel Embiid? Awful coach
If Nick Nurse hadn’t kicked Joel Embiid and Paul George in the knee while tanking on Maxey’s hamstring…
Both have too much mileage
I hope this meeting works. It has been rough watching them. It starts with team health and Embiid being his MvP version. I also think Morey is completely overrated as a GM. He should try to build a team with depth and not just star chase.
Another bad decision. Might change their minds when there are only 9000 fans at home games.
What has Morey done in Philly. He had brought in a ton of over 30 veterans who haven’t been good. Drummond is 6ft 11inches(and gets blocked by the rim often), Martin can’t hit a open shot to save his life, Gordon has been awful, Lowry is awful, PG looks like injuries have taken a toll on his athletic ability. The sixers are in trouble and Morey should be fired at this point.
Have faith lol.
Morey is a counter. He lucked out with Harden. He let him do whatever he wanted. Harden is not known for taking care of his body like Bron, or Jimmy. Morey goes for talent yes. But you have to make sure they mix. I’m sure now Embiid gets away with anything. Hence his injury now. Never liked Morey
Morey might be the biggest cancer on the league in NBA history
I can’t believe the article didn’t mention how good the Warriors are! They get no love!!!
*yawns*
Draymond and its not even close.
So quickly we forget that the Clippers were headed up by a racist douche canoe with no sense for half a century…
It’s not them that’s the issue.
Coach firing already. What is this ,… the NFL ,,, ha
All Sixers have to do is top six. They will get third seed in East. They can still make a statement this year….. top6.
Oh, they’re already making a statement.
To keep his job, Morey knew last year that he had to make a deep run in the playoffs soon. To have a shot, he needed to give George and Embiid massive deals.
Morey has said that a team can’t win a 2nd round playoff series, never mind a Chip, if it’s missing a superstar, He knows that the odds of George and Embiid both being available all the way through a Championship Series are small. Still, it’s the best shot he has at preserving his reputation. He’ll be working for another team by the time the Philly fans fully appreciate the lasting damage he’s done.
Paul George will be 35 yrs old this season. He averaged 50 games in his 5 seasons with the Clippers, and broke down twice in the playoffs. But the Sixers just gave him a 4 yr deal for $210M
Joel Embiid has averaged less than 50 games in his career, exclusive of the 2 seasons he missed. He played 39 last season. At 30 yrs old, he’s visibly deteriorating. But the Sixers just gave him a 5 yr deal for $320M.
It’s the Sixers ownership’s money, not Daryl Morey’s. And it’s the Sixers fans that will watch George and Embiid, max contracts and injuries, sink the franchise over the next 4-5 seasons.
Philly definitely has the worst contracts in the nba and this is AFTER the awful Tobias Harris contract ended lol
MDJ boutta swing another huge multi-teamer with the 76ers to get GSW Maxey while somehow only giving up Wiggins, GP2 and Podz and picks lol
I dont know how this start could lead to him being fired. The roster is brand new, lacks scoring outside of its stars and the stars spent most time hurt.
Brabo, Agreed, no way a bad start gets Morey fired. And we can’t evaluate Finch until players get healthy.
This is a slow-moving train wreck, playing out over multiple seasons. Every year will have extended ups and downs that coincide with the superstars’ availability. But, because of Embiid and George’s injuries, each season will ultimately disappoint, with mediocre W-L and early playoff exits.
If I were PHI ownership, I would, as soon as possible:
1) fire Morey,
2) “promote” Nurse to the position of real HC, and
3) make Brand interim TP (he’s already GM), with directions to work with Nurse on roster tweaks, etc. as needed, but no major in-season moves.
I’d make clear to Morey that he is not being fired due to moves he made during the 2024 off season, which I considered a decent attempt to salvage the team’s then situation. He’s being fired (belatedly) for the team’s then situation. He was hired in 2020 to build a team around the inherited Embid and the recently drafted Maxey. 3.5 years later, despite an endless series of myopic 2k-ish moves, the core was still just Embid and Maxey, the team still hasn’t advanced past the 2nd round of the playoffs, and the draft capital (overall) has been depleted.
If the team turns the 2024 season around, and the 2024 off season ends up looking great, the team might owe him a thanks of sorts. But he’s still fired. After all, he’ll be paid his entire contract, and end up well compensated for one summer of good work. Going forward, I’d like 5 years of team building for 5 years of TP salary.
If I’m Nurse I quit and go coach somewhere else. Why take the headache.
If he quits, he doesn’t get the 20 mm left on his contract, and he still can’t take another job without PHI agreeing to it. If he gets fired, then he gets the 20 mm, and PHI would likely be motivated to agree to his coaching elsewhere if that’s what he wanted.
When the FO said they’re not thinking of firing him, that was a threat, not a vote of confidence.
> When the FO said they’re not thinking of firing him,
> that was a threat, not a vote of confidence
Yes, and the same applies to Morey. He’d love to be fired now, and be able to say he built a contender, and get hire elsewhere now. But ownership will force him to see this through for a few years. Nobody else would want this job right now.
I don’t think Morey just strolls in to another top job. Consultant maybe. As an owner, I wouldn’t keep a FO chief around who’s judgement I don’t trust (at least with him having personnel control, and if not him, then who would and what is he doing).
The problem is that owners don’t think like us. They don’t see winning in the same way, it’s about the dollars the team brings in before any roster and team considerations. Morey brought it big-time players and made the team popular and recognized. For an owner, that’s a plus, even if he hasn’t produced any results on the court since Houston.
EonADS said:
> The problem is that owners don’t think like us.
Excellent point, and you’re spot on about the owners think foremost about growing revenues. But winning, especially over multiple seasons, has a large effect on franchise valuation (as does losing). Personnel decisions have multi-billion implications, and all well-run pro franchises model these. Pro sports is $500B industry now, with sophisticated financial models.
Read no further if you don’t want to know why a bad GM can reduce franchise valuation by several billion.
In broad strokes, current potential NBA franchise valuation ranges from ~$1.5B to ~$12B, based on:
1. a location/market (population, spending power),
2. facility (price of tickets, food, services)
3. quality of team
4. local media revenues (TV, radio, streaming)
5. shared NBA revenues (TV, streaming)
Upper and lower bounds for each franchise vary according to market size. The Knicks, Nets, Lakers, and Clippers have the largest potential valuations and NOLA, OKC the lowest. Team management is judged by where current valuation falls in its possible range.
But consistent winning has an enormous impact on revenue due to its effect on ticket prices and media/streaming revenues. GSW increased its valuation from $400M to $7.5B in 10 years because winning led to a new facility, a 5x increase of gate, etc
In all sports, just as extended winning maximizes valuation, extended losing does the opposite. It’s well-researched: the nightmare financial scenario for a good team is becoming bad for three consecutive seasons. Ticket prices, attendance, and media revenues fall dramatically , and valuation falls towards its minimum. That’s why teams should never give max, long-term deals to injury prone players. In year 4 of contracts for Kahwi Leonard, Paul George, and Joel Embiid contracts, they’ll likely be called a $2B mistake.
@Eon – The issue for Morey is not how ownership looks at winning, but how they look at losing. If you’re saying that ownership will still be happy with Morey going forward even if this group doesn’t turn things around, then I think you’re in for a surpise. Because of the health argument, he’ll likely get one more year, but no more.
Also, I’m not sure who Morey has brought in, or that he’s increased the popularity of the team. But I’m not on the ground in PHI. His best deal was by subtraction (swapping Simmons for Harden), but I doubt ownership is falling all over him about it.
Make a trade for youth around Maxey. Sign Fultz, Covington, Noel, Okafor, MCW and others
Josh Harris is a carpetbagger.