It’s been a tumultuous few days for the Sixers’ organization.
Then again, those days all ended in “y.”
Two days after the ownership group made the decision to part ways with Daryl Morey after six seasons, managing partner Josh Harris and HBSE president of sports and former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers spoke to reporters.
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The pair spoke about what the franchise is looking for in its next lead executive, what Myers’ role looks like moving forward and the fallout of the Jared McCain trade. Here are five takeaways from the availability.
Where do they go from here?
If you were hoping for answers as far as the direction the team is going, you didn’t get much. Several questions were asked about the futures of Joel Embiid and Paul George, and how those older veterans mesh with the young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
Myers didn’t divulge much, basically insinuating the new executive the team hires will have major input. He acknowledged how early it is in the process and how there’s still much fact-finding to be done and people within the organization to speak to about what went wrong this season.
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Harris was asked specifically about Embiid and his future. Take his answer how you will.
“I think that he’s an important player on our roster,” Harris said, “and he’s a warrior. … some of the things that you said are also true [about his injury history]. So, I think we’re looking forward to welcoming him back on our team.”
If you were looking for a ringing endorsement for Embiid, it wasn’t provided. Nor was there any clear indication of how the team views the plausibility of its current dual timeline.
But Myers’ answer to Derek Bodner’s question about the viability of the three-star model in today’s CBA was interesting.
“Well, we didn’t get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. … I think it’s a smart question in that, ‘what’s the modern roster supposed to look like with the second apron, really? Which oftentimes operates as kind of a hard cap. The truth is, depth may be more important than it’s ever been. Maybe that’s the pace of play. Maybe that’s what we require of our players more. Not to say that this model doesn’t work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it. We got to be honest about can this model work, right? And that’s really the question, and also understanding the depth is key, and you only have certain amount of resources to spend. So that’s all part of the questions. It’s all part of what we need to figure out going forward.”
For what it’s worth, it didn’t seem like Myers was being evasive in the availability. Morey was just let go on Tuesday and Myers’ search hasn’t even really begun. Perhaps when the draft comes around, those answers will start to materialize.
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This answer from Myers was another interesting one, though:
“It was fascinating to hear from the current staff that I saw yesterday in Chicago, what was said at the exit interviews. I find that very impactful. I’m not going to tell you [what was said] — that’s not fair. All of it matters, all these conversations, all the things you learn about an organization when the game is over and you go in the locker room and you talk to the players, you talk to the coach, talk to the training staff, what happened this season, and until we get all of that, I’m not going to say we’ve got the answers to that question, but I do know this: we have to get better.”
Myers’ role moving forward
When Morey was let go, folks wondered if Myers would simply take on the role of president of basketball operations. That does not appear to be the case.
However, some eyebrows were raised when ESPN’s Shams Charania said Myers would “partner” with the team’s next lead executive. Given Myers’ success as an NBA exec, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll have a bit more say with the Sixers than, say, the New Jersey Devils or Washington Commanders, HBSE’s other franchises.
While the person the team hires will be in charge of day-to-day operations, it certainly sounds like Myers will weigh in on the franchise’s bigger decisions.
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“They’ll have a lot of authority here, which they should,” Myers said. “What they’re going to get, and our fans are going to get, is them, plus me. I won’t be on a day-to-day level, but on the high-level decision-making, which is being here at the draft, being here leading up to the trade deadline, being available for free-agency discussions, free-agency meetings, things like that. I’m going to be involved at that level, and I can tell you that I imagine — and I’m not saying this lightly — I’ll be communicating with that person daily, if not five out of seven days a week.”
Could Myers one day go full Pat Riley mode and take things over? Who knows?
A comfort to Sixers fans concerned about the draft is that Myers is hoping to have someone in place by then and is allowing a front office group that’s drafted quite well to do its thing.
“… the goal would be to have someone in place for the draft to get acclimated with the new group. But by the way, the group is working now, and whoever we hire, not sure who that will be, will likely, possibly already be evaluating the draft, where they’re coming from. So that’s a benefit, in some ways, but, yeah, I’d like to, and I hope to, but it’ll be as much time as required to get the best person. Because again, sure, have someone by the draft, but the goal would be to have someone that’s the right person for a long amount of time after.”
On his draft philosophy:
“This group’s done a pretty good job drafting, to be honest. I don’t want to come in and run over anybody in this existing group, including Daryl. He’s drafted some good players — Maxey, VJ, good examples of very successful players that were picked. So I’m not an expert in that. I’ll give my opinion. I want to meet with the group, hear what they say. Each year is a little bit different as to what you’re looking for, see who might be available at that pick and partner with new leadership and see what their philosophies are on the whole thing.”
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The Jared McCain trade
There was no way this one wasn’t coming up.
Myers was asked about it first. His answer was diplomatic, praising Morey in general, while saying the true analysis of trades for the organization doesn’t happen until we see all the results.
Harris confirmed the ownership group — including Myers — gave the OK on the deal.
“So, the way these things work generally with something like that is the front office makes a recommendation,” Harris said, “and then ownership, which included Bob at that point, and we OK’d it. So, I think we were involved in it. It was part of a bigger plan. … As Bob said, we don’t know the outcome of that trade right now. We are sitting here with the 22nd pick, but I understand what you’re saying, and I understand the question, and …obviously, I understand the view of it here.”
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Well, here’s hoping they nail pick No. 22.
What are they looking for?
Myers was asked right off the bat what he’s looking for in an executive.
“I’m a big believer in character and leadership, and I’m looking for a person that embodies those things. But there’s many characteristics under that that I believe kind of qualify in making a modern GM a success. There’s front-facing responsibilities, there’s responsibilities of managing star players, there’s responsibilities of managing up to ownership, there’s contract negotiations, there’s draft process, there’s evaluating analytics, there’s medical staff.
“You go down the line, and these jobs have an enormity to them, so I’m looking to find someone that can check as many of those boxes as possible, but also raise their hand and say, ‘You know what? I’m actually not good in this space. I’m going to need some support.’ Because the misnomer about these jobs is … I had some success in my previous job, but it wasn’t me by myself. There are teams of people that make a team and organization successful, so making sure we have the right person to lead them, but also the right people underneath them, which is important.”
Harris faces tough questions
It goes without saying the Sixers fan base isn’t pleased with Harris and the organization. A decent example of that is how New York Knicks fans were able to take over Xfinity Mobile Arena last week. There is also a growing contingent of the fanbase who’d like Harris to sell the team, noting how his other teams are direct competitors with Philadelphia franchises.
Despite being asked a question about him not addressing “off-court things,” Harris kept his answers strictly to basketball and the Sixers.
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“I think I’m very focused on setting up the team and the club to push through the second round and go to the NBA championship, achieve our goals,” Harris said. “I care deeply for the team. No one’s more frustrated than I am. I understand people’s frustration. And … going out and getting someone as talented as Bob to kind of help Philly achieve its goals — this is the next step and our evolution.”
Interesting nugget to add: Harris was asked directly if the front office is under a directive to stay below the luxury tax. Harris said no, and that the ownership group is investing in a new arena, which will cost much more than any tax penalties, and has signed multiple max players, at times going over the tax in the past.
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