{"id":672388,"date":"2026-05-15T10:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672388\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:51:12","slug":"bob-myers-josh-harris-address-jared-mccain-trade-76ers-weighing-if-3-max-player-roster-can-still-deliver-nba-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672388\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Myers, Josh Harris address Jared McCain trade; 76ers weighing if 3-max-player roster can still deliver NBA title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barely acquainted with the assembled media covering the postmortem of the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, Bob Myers was peppered Thursday with questions about how to take a franchise mired in early playoff exits to championship-level greatness.<\/p>\n

In October, Myers left his role as an NBA analyst at ESPN to join Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment as its president of sports<\/a>. Josh Harris and David Blitzer called upon the accomplished NBA executive to help further the company\u2019s portfolio of teams, including the Sixers.<\/p>\n

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Myers is best known for constructing the Golden State Warriors<\/a> rosters that delivered the league\u2019s latest dynasty, a four-championship run from 2015-22 that featured Stephen Curry<\/a>, Klay Thompson<\/a> and Draymond Green<\/a>, who were temporarily joined by Kevin Durant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Myers\u2019 days as a general manager and president of basketball operations seem to be in the rearview mirror, he\u2019s now tasked with finding the next leader of the Sixers\u2019 basketball operations. He\u2019s in charge of the department until Daryl Morey\u2019s replacement is hired. The Sixers parted ways with Morey<\/a> after the New York Knicks<\/a> swept Philadelphia<\/a> in the Eastern Conference semifinals, yet another premature playoff departure for a franchise that hasn\u2019t been to the Eastern Conference finals since Allen Iverson led it to the NBA Finals in 2000-01.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Myers was asked a bevy of questions, chief among them one about an NBA adage that it\u2019s easier to go from bad to good \u2014 a hurdle the Sixers cleared during \u201cThe Process\u201d \u2014 than it is to go from good to great, a status Philadelphia so desperately wants to achieve. So what is it going to take to get there?<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that adage,\u201d Myers said. \u201cBecause when you’re bad, you can try anything, and if it doesn’t work, you’re still bad. But if you’re good, you have to risk something to go to great. \u2026 You risk making a mistake and falling back to bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He added: \u201cIt’s a hard look at everything. It’s a hard look at whoever we hire, and we’ll place it on them. It’s a hard look at what I’ve experienced and what I know that makes a championship team. But it’s also a question to our players: ‘Do you want to get uncomfortable?’ Because it takes a great level of uncomfortability to win a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers discussed what he\u2019s looking for in Morey\u2019s replacement. Both he and Harris were pressed about the controversial deadline deal that sent Jared McCain<\/a> to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>. Harris was asked point-blank about his perceived aversion to dipping into the luxury tax as well as Knicks fans\u2019 takeover at Xfinity Mobile Arena last week. They fielded questions about how injury-plagued center Joel Embiid<\/a> and head coach Nick Nurse fit into their plans, too \u2014 all in a 30-plus-minute news conference that encompassed a pivotal offseason facing the Sixers.<\/p>\n

\"Philadelphia<\/p>\n

Philadelphia 76ers managing partner Josh Harris, left, and Bob Myers are facing a crucial offseason that includes replacing former President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/p>\n

(AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)Sixers would like to hire next president of basketball operations before draft but won\u2019t rush process<\/p>\n

Myers said, ideally, Philadelphia will have a new president of basketball operations before the NBA Draft, which takes place June 23-24, but, in his words, \u201cif it hasn\u2019t happened, that\u2019s OK, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He explained the Sixers will take as much time as they need to find the right person. Myers was asked if former two-time All-Star big man Elton Brand<\/a> \u2014 who has held the role of GM for the franchise since the fall of 2018 \u2014 will be considered for the vacancy left by Morey. Myers was non-committal on the subject, noting he\u2019s spoken to Brand but not in detail about the opening yet.<\/p>\n

More generally, Myers outlined what he\u2019s looking for in the Sixers\u2019 new president of basketball operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m a big believer in character and leadership,\u201d he said. \u201cI’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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’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 \u2014 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.’<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the misnomer about these jobs is \u2026 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 an organization successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris says ownership approved McCain trade; Myers: \u2018We should be graded on the ultimate result of transactions like that\u2019<\/p>\n

Ahead of this year\u2019s trade deadline, Philadelphia infamously shipped off McCain to the defending NBA champion Thunder<\/a>. In exchange, the Sixers received a 2026 Houston Rockets<\/a> first-round pick and three second-round picks.<\/p>\n

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Morey later admitted they made that trade in hopes of striking an additional deal at the deadline, but \u201cnothing materialized,\u201d<\/a> he said. That trade was criticized in the moment for a variety of reasons, and it wound up especially backfiring in the postseason. McCain, who was an early NBA Rookie of the Year candidate with the Sixers last season before suffering a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee<\/a>, has thrived with OKC in the playoffs. During the Thunder\u2019s sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> in the Western Conference semifinals, McCain scored in double figures three times. Despite posting just 14.8 minutes per contest in the series, he averaged three 3s a game versus the Lakers while shooting a blistering 63.2% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Philadelphia struggled to get scoring from its bench in the playoffs, particularly against the Knicks, and scrounged for 3-point marksmanship across the board. Harris said Thursday that ownership and Myers approved the McCain trade after receiving a front-office recommendation. Myers was asked for his evaluation of that deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Daryl,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m not going to disparage Daryl here today. I think he did a fine job, and I think he’s a good person. … What I will tell you is that was a few months ago. Right now we have the 22nd pick. Our job is to get that right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three second-round picks from it. … We should be graded on the ultimate result of transactions like that. But I understand. I made draft picks where we got an ‘F’ right away, 10 minutes after the draft. F! And I was like, ‘How do they know it’s an F? I mean, the guy hasn’t even played.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Myers continued, addressing the reporter who inquired: \u201cBut your job and everybody’s job is to react. I totally understand that. Our job is to make a trade. There’ll be a reaction, it’ll be positive or negative, but that trade isn’t done. And our job is to make sure that on our end of the trade, we do a good job with drafting the best player at 22.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris insists front office has green light to pay luxury tax<\/p>\n

In addition to the blowback the Sixers got from trading a now-22-year-old McCain, they also received flak for ducking the tax. That naturally led to questions about the franchise\u2019s willingness to spend for a championship-caliber roster with Harris as an owner.<\/p>\n

Harris has been under siege from Philadelphia fans who are disgruntled by the team\u2019s inactivity at the deadline, considering there seemed to be an opportunity to improve the roster in a season where the East appeared even more open than it normally is.<\/p>\n

Harris was asked on Thursday if staying under the tax line is a priority.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI appreciate the question because there’s been a lot of chatter, and it gives me a chance to answer directly,\u201d he said. \u201cThe front office absolutely has the green light to go into the luxury tax. … It’s not an issue. I mean, it’s just not an issue. We’re building an arena here. I can tell you that the amount of dollars you spend on that versus the luxury tax, it’s magnitudes more. We’ve built this facility, we’ve signed a number of max deals, so there’s no issue with the luxury tax. And so, I’m glad that you asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers then chimed in: \u201cI just can’t imagine a day where if I said to Josh or leadership said to Josh, ‘This deal makes us a contender, but you have to go into the tax,’ \u2014 if he says no, which he won’t, I wouldn’t work for somebody like that. Because, look, to be honest, if you look at the history of teams that have won a championship, I was one of them \u2014 we were in the tax.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris says he\u2019s looking forward to welcoming Embiid back; Myers weighs \u2018Big 3,\u2019 depth-oriented models<\/p>\n

During Morey\u2019s six-season run with the franchise, he showed his commitment to Embiid in a big way by giving the one-time NBA MVP and seven-time All-Star a three-year, $193 million extension in the fall of 2024 that gave him a player option for the 2028-29 campaign<\/a>. In the two seasons since, an assortment of injuries have limited Embiid to 57 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

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The same offseason as Embiid\u2019s most recent extension, Morey also inked aging free-agent forward Paul George<\/a> and burgeoning Sixers superstar Tyrese Maxey<\/a> to max contracts. While Maxey has flourished, George has struggled to stay on the court and even was suspended 25 games this season for violating the NBA\u2019s anti-drug program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sixers got a rare glimpse of their \u201cBig 3\u201d on the floor together in the first round of this year\u2019s postseason. That\u2019s when Philadelphia completed its first 3-1 playoff comeback in franchise history, against the rival Boston Celtics<\/a>, no less.<\/p>\n

But the Sixers were bruised, tired and simply outmatched by the Knicks in the semis. So the question remains, can you build a championship roster with three max players in today\u2019s NBA? After all, the league is currently ruled by a depth-flexing Thunder squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we didn’t get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe 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, and we got to be honest about, can this model work? And that’s really the question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris said the Sixers are \u201clooking forward to welcoming\u201d Embiid back next season. In the fallout of Philadelphia being bounced by New York, trade speculation has run rampant, as has often been the case with Embiid in recent years. The reality is, the Sixers, for now, seem stuck with three hefty contracts, including Embiid\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The roster will be piloted by Nurse, who is coming back for his fourth season at the helm. Harris talked Thursday about how the Sixers played hard for Nurse this season, and he commended Nurse for juggling a collection of injuries along the way.<\/p>\n

Myers emphasized that they\u2019re trying to find a president of basketball operations who will be a great partner for Nurse.<\/p>\n

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Harris on Knicks fans invading Sixers\u2019 arena during Eastern Conference semifinals: \u2018It\u2019s on us\u2019<\/p>\n

As was the case in 2024 when the Sixers played the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, New York practically eliminated Philadelphia\u2019s home-court advantage in this year\u2019s semis.<\/p>\n

The Sixers tried to prepare for the swarm of Knicks fans<\/a>, but their efforts were definitely for naught in Game 4, when New York controlled the environment despite it technically being a \u201croad\u201d game for the Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t like it,\u201d Harris said. \u201cI mean, it’s our home court. We did everything we could, including buying tickets to keep the fans out, we geofenced. Look, it’s on us. I mean, the fans supported us, and let’s face it, we got swept. And so for that last game, there were some Knicks fans in the arena. And so our job is to come back and win that series next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Harris went on: “It gives me more focus and more orientation to just sort of getting back to work and bringing in, I mean, again, we have a four-time NBA champion here [Myers] who’s going to be overseeing basketball ops, and that’s a big deal. And so there’s a recognition that, ‘Hey, this city’s not going to be satisfied, and we’re not going to be satisfied unless we win an NBA championship.’ That’s hard. There’s 30 teams that want to do it. There’s 29 other teams. They’re all smart, and we need to be smarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so that’s what this is about. It’s about doing everything we can to move to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barely acquainted with the assembled media covering the postmortem of the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers, Bob Myers was peppered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,136036,324465,1664,89225,324467,7901,319009,5552,324466,7220,68172,37975,157806,7216,14231,7232,590,2656,1666,40756,5548,31650,5136,9688,85,7903,52204],"class_list":["post-672388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-basketball-operations","tag-bob-myers","tag-boston-celtics","tag-daryl-morey","tag-david-blitzer","tag-draymond-green","tag-elton-brand","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-harris-blitzer-sports-entertainment","tag-houston-rockets","tag-jared-mccain","tag-joel-embiid","tag-josh-harris","tag-kevin-durant","tag-klay-thompson","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-nick-nurse","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-paul-george","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-sports","tag-stephen-curry","tag-tyrese-maxey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}