76ers Hire Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers

Robert Musantry
Sports Business Editor

Just a few weeks after making headlines by announcing he was stepping down as Houston Rockets general manager, Daryl Morey found a new home with the Philadelphia 76ers. Morey signed a reported five-year deal and will earn around $10 million a season. This contract comes after Morey spent 13 years with the Rockets organization and will see him take up the role of team president.

This hiring was not the only news coming from Philadelphia in recent weeks, as Doc Rivers also signed a contract with the team to become their head coach. Along with these new hires, general manager Elton Brand signed a contract extension that will keep him around past this upcoming season, when his original contract was set to expire.

These basketball personnel decision makers have a lot of work on their hands. The team’s concerns center around young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and whether the two of them can coexist on a competitive and even championship-level basketball team.

For his part, Morey believes in the abilities of these two players. At his introductory press conference, he simply addressed the situation by stating, “I absolutely think they can work together.”
Rivers echoed this idea, saying, “They haven’t won yet, not that they can’t win. The ‘can’t’ should be taken out. But there’s a lot of combinations of players around the league that haven’t won yet, and they’re just two other ones. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

The Sixers have seen mild playoff success in recent years as Embiid and Simmons have grown and gained experience, but it is clear that ownership and fans expect these new faces to extend the organization’s basketball talent to the next level and compete for an NBA title.

Contact Robert at musantro@shu.edu