The 76ers are making a significant change at the top.
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey is now out of the organization, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday night. Morey met with owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and the decision was made to go in another direction.
ESPN added that Nick Nurse will remain as the team’s head coach.
The move comes two days after Philadelphia’s season ended with a whimper in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The 76ers lost all but one game by double figures and lost Sunday’s Game 4 by 30 points.
Morey took over as Philadelphia’s president in November 2020 after a 13-year run as general manager of the Rockets.
With the shakeup, the 76ers will now be on the hunt —which will be led by former Warriors exec and current president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Bob Myers — for someone to lead their front office as free agency and the NBA draft approach.
Philadelphia held a 270-212 overall regular season record over six seasons reached the postseason five times under Morey’s stewardship, but it could never get past the Eastern Conference semifinals.
There were plenty of highs, including Joel Embiid winning MVP for 2022-23 and 2025 No. 3 overall draft pick VJ Edgecombe finishing this season third in the Rookie of the Year voting.
But Embiid and Paul George, important parts to Philadelphia’s core, played in just 38 and 37 games, respectively, this season as the team finished seventh in the East. The 76ers overcame a 3-1 deficit to get past the Celtics in the first round but mostly looked overmatched by the Knicks in round 2.
Morey’s tenure wasn’t controversy-free, and things got tense in the summer of 2023 when then-76ers star James Harden, who had also played under Morey in Houston and came to Philly from the Nets in the Ben Simmons swap, called the president a “liar” and requested a trade out of Philadelphia.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said in a video.“Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
Harden’s wish was eventually granted in November when he was shipped to the Clippers in a four-team deal.
Whoever takes over the reins will have key decisions to make, including whether to keep stalwart Kelly Oubre Jr.
