{"id":679302,"date":"2026-05-18T20:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679302\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:22:12","slug":"daryl-morey-was-always-going-to-go-down-swinging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679302\/","title":{"rendered":"Daryl Morey Was Always Going to Go Down Swinging"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBA<\/a>NBA<\/a>For 20 years, Morey bet everything on stars. In Philadelphia, that philosophy finally reached its breaking point.\"\"Getty Images\/Ringer illustration\"\"<\/a>By Howard Beck<\/a>May 18, 12:58 pm UTC \u2022 7 min<\/p>\n

The most persistent critique of Daryl Morey, across his two decades as an NBA general manager, with two franchises in two time zones, is that the man tends to fall a little too hard for superstars. Chases them. Swoons over them. Panders to them. Over-empowers and overpays them. And when one pricey star proves insufficient, he chases another. And another.<\/p>\n

In Houston, it was James Harden, alternately flanked by Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook. In Philadelphia, it was Joel Embiid, alternately flanked by Ben Simmons, Harden (hello again!), Tyrese Maxey, and, finally, Paul George.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s those same impulses, his critics assert, that led to George\u2019s max contract and Embiid\u2019s max extension, to a Sixers roster that grew top-heavy with oft-injured vets, to a thinned-out bench that crippled them in the postseason, to a humiliating sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks last week, and, ultimately (indeed, consequently), to Morey\u2019s ouster as team president.<\/p>\n

The Sixers fired Morey on after six modestly successful, frequently frustrating seasons. During his tenure, Philly made the playoffs five times, made the second round four times, and made the conference finals zero times. That last data point is cited most often as proof of Morey\u2019s failure and is, the primary reason the Sixers are now searching for a new president of basketball operations while Morey is searching for Airbnb listings in Canc\u00fan.<\/p>\n

Morey might rebut a few specific criticisms, rationalize a few decisions, and generally defend the process (small p) behind his decision-making. But the star-chasing part? He would emphatically plead guilty\u2014and probably belittle you for calling that a \u201ccriticism\u201d at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that Morey, with his background in analytics, discovered some complex mathematical formula, or that he\u2019s even unique in this strategy. It\u2019s just that he, more than most, has made the acquisition of superstars his North Star. A Morey-led franchise will never be subtle in its aims or particularly patient. He isn\u2019t interested in alternate models or \u201cmiddle builds\u201d or a depth-first approach. It\u2019s stars or bust.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you need elite players to win the title in this league,\u201d Morey, then in his third season as Rockets general manager, told me in December 2009<\/a>, articulating a thesis statement that\u2019s defined his career. What was notable at that moment was that the Rockets were somehow thriving without their two elite players, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, who were both injured for an extended stretch. Houston nonetheless kept churning out wins behind the efforts of unglamorous grinders like Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, and Trevor Ariza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Morey knew then, as he does now, that Grit and Grind only get you so far for so long. He also knew he\u2019d soon need a new foundational star, with McGrady and Yao quickly fading. Within three years, the two future Hall of Famers would be gone, replaced by Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Chandler Parsons, and Morey began forging a new contender out of the debris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, an NFL Schedule Glut, Owning the Jazz, and a Boston Sports Check-In\u2014With Bryan Curtis, Bill\u2019s Dad, and Ryan Smith<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, an NFL Schedule Glut, Owning the Jazz, and a Boston Sports Check-In\u2014With Bryan Curtis, Bill\u2019s Dad, and Ryan Smith<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, the NFL Schedule, Owning the Jazz, and Boston Sports<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, the Jazz, and the NFL<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, an NFL Schedule Glut, Owning the Jazz, and a Boston Sports Check-In\u2014With Bryan Curtis, Bill\u2019s Dad, and Ryan Smith<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, an NFL Schedule Glut, Owning the Jazz, and a Boston Sports Check-In\u2014With Bryan Curtis, Bill\u2019s Dad, and Ryan Smith<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, the NFL Schedule, Owning the Jazz, and Boston Sports<\/p>\n

Harden\u2019s Moment, the Jazz, and the NFL<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Morey\u2019s next half decade of transactions reads like a greatest-hits list. He landed Harden in 2012, Howard in 2013, Paul in 2017, and Westbrook in 2019\u2014and along the way chased LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and probably half a dozen other stars, back when chasing stars in free agency was still a thing. He did so aggressively, sometimes brazenly, always unapologetically, never wavering from that \u201cMore is better\u201d mentality. If Morey could have signed them all, he probably would have\u2014salary cap and chemistry concerns be damned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You need elite players to win the title.<\/p>\n

About that: Morey\u2019s teams have posted a winning record in 18 of his 19 and placed in the top two of their respective conferences 10 times. His Rockets made it to the Western Conference finals twice. But, well, that was it. Zero Finals appearances. Zero titles. Yet the Rockets\u2019 failures don\u2019t really undermine Morey\u2019s premise; they prove it. Over his last six seasons, the Rockets were ousted in the playoffs four times by Steph Curry\u2019s Warriors (twice in the conference finals), with the other two playoff defeats dealt by Kawhi Leonard\u2019s Spurs and LeBron\u2019s Lakers.<\/p>\n

Morey\u2019s thesis statement is broadly correct. NBA championships are almost always won by a team with an MVP-level player, often with the aid of another All-Star or two. As a general rule, you need a top-10 guy to even have a shot. So yes, Morey happily tied his fate to Harden and Embiid, two of the greatest offensive players of all time. But it takes more than elite players to win titles. It takes elite role players, quality depth, good chemistry, and good fortune. It\u2019s those last few boxes that Morey\u2019s teams have sometimes failed to check\u2014and that have fueled his critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t adjust to today\u2019s NBA landscape,\u201d said a rival team executive, echoing a common refrain. \u201cYou just can\u2019t only hunt stars all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sixers, much like Morey\u2019s Rockets, became top-heavy in talent and payroll. In the summer of 2024, they signed George (at age 34) to a four-year, $212 million contract; Maxey to a five-year, $204 million extension; and Embiid to a two-year, $130 million Their depth has indeed been an issue at times and was exacerbated by the controversial February trade of fan favorite Jared McCain to Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair, in retrospect, to question the wisdom of the George and Embiid contracts, given those players\u2019 ages and injury histories. But Embiid was a year removed from his MVP season, still in his prime, and unquestionably the Sixers\u2019 most important player. What NBA team says no to its franchise star in those circumstances? The George signing triggered some winces in real time, but it was also generally lauded as a coup. The Sixers needed another two-way star, and George was the best one available. Yet the risks in both cases were undeniable.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: If you waved a magic wand and undid all of Morey\u2019s most disputed moves, the Sixers still would have been smoked by the Knicks in the second round. And an entire Hogwarts catalog of magic wands wouldn\u2019t fix what\u2019s ailed the Sixers the most during the Embiid era: Embiid\u2019s health. When your franchise star misses 40 percent of all regular-season games and is constantly limping through the spring, you\u2019re not going to make many deep playoff runs.<\/p>\n

The Sixers don\u2019t have a front office problem; they have an Embiid problem. A new team president isn\u2019t changing that. (We could spend another 1,000 words detailing all the ways Sixers ownership has both coddled and failed Embiid over the past decade, but that\u2019s a digression for some other time.)<\/p>\n

The next Sixers head of basketball ops will be the fifth since Embiid was drafted in Nick Nurse, whom the club intends to retain, is the Sixers\u2019 third head coach of the Embiid era. Embiid has had his share of costars, from Simmons to Jimmy Butler to Harden to Maxey and George. The one constant, though, is Embiid\u2019s injury misfortune\u2014from foot problems to knee troubles to concussions to facial fractures to Bell\u2019s palsy to, most recently, an appendectomy just before the 2026 playoffs.<\/p>\n

Embiid recovered in time to lead the Sixers to a stunning, history-making upset of the second-seeded Boston Celtics. For a minute or two, they were the NBA\u2019s reigning feel-good story. A week later, they were firing their team president.<\/p>\n

Morey\u2019s replacement will inherit one of the most star-crossed superstars in modern times, and all the challenges that come with him. But they\u2019ll also inherit a roster flush with talent, including Maxey and rookie sensation V.J. Edgecombe (both drafted during Morey\u2019s tenure), and a healthy cache of draft picks, including the 22nd pick in June (via Houston), the Clippers\u2019 first-round pick in 2028 and potentially 2029 (via swap rights), and all of the Sixers\u2019 own first-rounders after this year.<\/p>\n

The Sixers, given a little good fortune and good health, could be in fine shape. Morey\u2019s reputation is largely intact, too, and he\u2019ll almost certainly be running another NBA team in the near future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nineteen years ago, Morey was viewed as a bit of a wunderkind and a curiosity, as well as a pioneer\u2014the first NBA stat nerd to rise to general manager. It rattled a lot of traditionalists, who believed only true \u201cbasketball people\u201d (i.e., ex-players and coaches) were qualified for the role. Today, it\u2019s common to find front offices run by lawyers (Rafael Stone in Houston), former agents (Leon Rose in New York), salary cap maestros (Michael Winger in Washington), and number aficionados (Ben Tenzer in Denver).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every franchise today is deeply invested in analytics. And just about every team is as devoted to high-efficiency scoring\u20143s, layups, and free throws\u2014as the Rockets were in the early 2010s, back when high-volume 3-point shooting was still broadly derided.<\/p>\n

Whatever NBA fans and insiders may think of Morey\u2019s methods or his track record, his imprint on the league is undeniable.<\/p>\n

The next owner who interviews Morey might justifiably ask about potential regrets. That Embiid extension. That George signing. The Harden partnership that went sour. Would he do anything differently looking back? Would he change anything in his approach now? All fair questions.<\/p>\n

We know this much for certain: Daryl Morey will keep chasing stars, because stars win championships, and championships are the point of the exercise. Whether it\u2019s time to recalibrate or moderate that approach, only Morey can say. Whether he was fairly judged in Philly is in the eye of the beholder.<\/p>\n

But it reminds us of another thesis statement Morey offered long ago, back in his rookie season as the Rockets GM.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think, at the end of the day, how people judge it will come down to whether or not we win titles,\u201d Morey said<\/a>. \u201cI think that\u2019s appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Beck<\/p>\n

<\/a>Howard Beck got his basketball education covering the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers for the L.A. Daily News starting in 1997, and has been writing and reporting about the NBA ever since. He\u2019s also covered the league for The New York Times, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He\u2019s a co-host of \u2018The Real Ones.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBANBAFor 20 years, Morey bet everything on stars. In Philadelphia, that philosophy finally reached its breaking point.Getty Images\/Ringer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-679302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679302","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=679302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}