Report: Sixers bringing in Daryl Morey to oversee basketball operations

The Philadelphia 76ers are finalizing a deal to make Daryl Morey the new president of basketball operations, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday afternoon. Morey, who was formerly the GM of the Houston Rockets, left after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs by the champion Los Angeles Lakers. It was unclear if Morey would return to basketball, though that has now come to fruition.

Sixers GM Elton Brand isn’t going anywhere. He will remain with the team in his current role. It seems Brand won’t have as much decision-making power as he had before. Morey was widely brought in because of his strong relationship with Doc Rivers, who was hired as Sixers coach a few weeks ago. He was let go by the Los Angeles Clippers after they failed to make it to the NBA Finals. Rivers and Morey will form a pretty powerful duo on Philly.

Now, the question that everyone has been waiting for: Does this mean somebody is going to get traded? Morey is known for pulling off pretty insane trades. He dealt for James Harden, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook all while with the Rockets. The Sixers are in need of a guard. Morey and Rivers have a good relationship with CP3. It sort of feels like Philly, under this new regime, could look into making a big trade, potentially involving one of Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid.

Does this also mean Mike D’Antoni will be brought in on Rivers’ coaching staff? D’Antoni and the Rockets parted ways after the season and then Morey left shortly after that. D’Antoni has been rumored to be joining Steve Nash’s staff in Brooklyn. Perhaps a chance to reconnect with Morey and work with Rivers is more appealing to D’Antoni than trying to mentor Nash during his first season with the Nets.