Morey: Simmons, Embiid can work together
PHILADELPHIA — The question has followed the 76ers for three years: Can Philadelphia win a championship with both All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on the roster?
The doubt seems almost inconceivable given the talent possessed by the 24-year-old Simmons and 26-year-old Embiid.
On Monday, the Sixers lifted the curtain on the Daryl Morey era, the former Houston Rockets executive now tasked with running Philadelphia’s basketball operations. By his side at the team complex were new Coach Doc Rivers and General Manager Elton Brand — an attempt at a new collaboration after Brand deemed previous combinations “didn’t work.”
The early returns show a regime determined to gut it out with Simmons and Embiid on the roster.
“My goal is to win us a championship, so whatever gets us there is what we’ll do,” Morey said. “But, I will say, to have two star-plus players at 24 and 26 years old, that is why I couldn’t get Doc Rivers to interview in Houston.”
Morey’s unemployment after his split with Houston — he cited family reasons — lasted about as long as Rivers’ time off after he left the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pressed on Embiid and Simmons, Morey quipped he was low on the tenure board.
“I think they absolutely can work together,” Morey said, “but Doc’s been here a little longer than me. I’ll turn to him. He’s thought even longer on how they can work together.”
The job largely fell on Brand, who was thrust into the GM role two years ago with no experience in the wake of Jerry Colangelo’s Twitter-scandal resignation. Brand had complained that the Sixers essentially had too many cooks in the kitchen and a shakeup was underway not long after the Sixers were swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
Brand, liked and respected around the league, was the public face of the franchise even if he wasn’t necessarily responsible for all the transactions. He earned a multiyear contract extension Monday to stay and work under Morey.
“Whatever my role needs to be, I accept that role,” Brand said. “I’m going to follow Daryl’s lead. He’s the president. He’s going to head basketball operations. But as general manager, I’m still going to have a significant role, vision and strategy.”
Morey and Rivers come with sizable track records, a change in direction from an ownership group that gave former general manager Sam Hinkie, Brown and Brand their first jobs in their prominent roles. But the days of the rebuild are long gone.
The Rockets under Morey made the three-pointer king in the NBA. They averaged 45.3 three-point attempts per game, tops in the NBA. The Sixers were 22nd in the league with 31.6 attempts — and Simmons hit only two (2 of 24 lifetime).
“The goal is not to shoot three-pointers, the goal is to win,” Morey said. “The best way to win in the NBA is to take your talent and figure out how to utilize them the best [way]. It’s not to take your talent and hammer it into a particular system. It’s to try and get the most out of what you have.”
The Sixers don’t have much outside of Simmons and Embiid except for bad contracts and a mismatched roster. Morey was blunt when he said “we’re not the favorites” and knows there’s a long road ahead to win the East, much less the title.
They want Embiid and Simmons to come along for the ride.
“We have to change the narrative,” Rivers said. “They haven’t won yet, not that they can’t win.”