The Philadelphia 76ers have had a very eventful offseason thus far as they have made wholesale changes up and down their organization as they look to bounce back and move on from a disappointing 2019-20 season.
The biggest moves they have made have been off the court. The team brought in Doc Rivers to be their new head coach, they brought in new executives such as Peter Dinwiddie and Prosper Karangwa to help the higher-ups make decisions, and they have brought in Daryl Morey to run their basketball operations with general manager Elton Brand.
The Sixers now have a star-studded front office and coaching staff, but it now begs the question of who is going to be in charge? There are a lot of names and big brains within the organization now. Will the ownership group get in the way of their decisions? How will this all work?
“Daryl is going to run the overall basketball operations, Doc is going to run the team, I think ownership is going to do what it needs to do to stay out of the way and to support Doc, Daryl, and Elton with their jobs and that’s the way I would look at it,” said managing partner Josh Harris. “We’re all in this to win a championship and ultimately, whatever gets us from here to there, we’re taking our cue from Daryl, Doc, and Elton on how we interact with players. We’re looking forward to setting this thing up in a great way that is supportive and ultimately win.”
Brand said in the past that he did not like the collaborative style. It seemed like he wanted to make the decisions himself, but maybe the time has shown him that he does need a little bit of help. Now that the team has brought in more “basketball minds” to get themselves back on track, the collaborative style will be able to work with this new group and Morey will help.
“One thing that the folks who know me is that I have a very collaborative style,” said Morey. “That’s why I was excited when Elton was open to having me join. You make great decisions by having great people who are all working towards the same goal and not worrying about what title someone is or, honestly, what role. The best ideas can come from anywhere. From interns all the way up to, hopefully, Elton and I have a good idea every once in a while. That collaborative style and really all our job is to make great decisions so we’re going to use great people all working together and use data.”
On top of that, Morey’s presence now allows Brand to learn some more and get things done on his end. He has been an NBA executive for two seasons now and he will be entering his third with the help of guys and Rivers like Morey who have had success in the NBA.
“You get the opportunity to speak to a Doc Rivers and sell him on the roster, sell him on the city of Philadelphia,” explained Brand. “When you get a chance to speak to a Daryl Morey and tell him about our city and sell him on our roster and then talk about ownership, the way Josh is going to step up and make sure we’re a world-class organization and the focus is on championships. It meant a lot to have the opportunity to speak with them and then have them come, it means the world. It’s about winning here and I think the organization is showing that.”
To win a championship in this league, it is going to take a group effort. It can’t be just one guy. That is why guys like Morey, Dinwiddie, Karangwa, Rivers, and Morey have been brought in to help the team back on track.
“If you come into an organization, even if you know a lot more and you’re saying ‘I know the way. I’ve got the answers’, you’re not going to make the decisions,” said Morey with a smile. “Ultimately, someone has to make the final decision and that’ll be on me, that’ll be on Doc, that’ll be on this group that’s on the stage, but once you make that decision, everyone gets behind it and your collaborative before that, any sort of ‘my way or the highway’, doesn’t yield championships in my opinion.” [lawrence-related id=38797,38792,38781]