Trust the process? How Daryl Morey’s stubbornness landed the Sixers Paul George

There’s not an executive in the NBA with a more black-and-white approach to team building than Daryl Morey.

Everyone knows that stars drive winning, but in his nearly two decades running NBA teams, Morey has taken that a step further. To him, chasing stars is the only way to build a team. He’s never believed in trying to emulate the 2004 Detroit Pistons or other championship outliers. In Morey’s view, NBA history is clear: To win a title, you need one top-10 guy, and maybe even better; another top-20 guy and another top-30-ish guy, if not better. Without those three pieces in place, you’re just grasping at straws.

In year’s past, Morey’s approach, while being more absolute than his peers, didn’t really stand out. Everyone was trying to build Big 3s, and many succeeded. There were the Tim Duncan-Tony Parker-Manu Ginobili Spurs, and the Kevin Garnett-Paul Piece-Ray Allen Boston Celtics, and the LeBron James- Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh Miami Heat, and the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving-James Harden Brooklyn Nets, just to name a few. 

But that’s all changed under the new collective bargaining agreement, which is going into effect this offseason. Rules are now in place specifically preventing teams from collecting stars. Not just harsh taxes, but all sorts of team-building restrictions as well. The new CBA has created an environment where you might actually have GMs as the ones advocating for less spending. Everyone’s still chasing talent and looking to add as many high-level players as possible. But teams are more open to the idea of building via depth.

[2024 NBA free agency tracker: Latest reported signings]

Not Morey, though. His view, according to people familiar with his thinking, is and has been that the CBA doesn’t change the math under which he’s always operated. The nature of basketball, and the NBA specifically, is that the best players determine the results. It doesn’t matter how restrictive any CBA is — Morey’s approach is always going to be to try squeezing in as many high-level players as possible and figuring out the rest later. The way he looks at things is that you can’t just stumble into a top-30 guy, but you can find productive role players on the scrap heap.

Which is why, even after the departure of James Harden and the emergence of Tyrese Maxey, Morey remained focused on bringing in one more star. He had plenty of opportunities to pivot, to flip assets last season for some more productive role players and do everything possible to lift the Joel Embiid-Maxey combo, but never did so. 

[Related: Emotion vs. Analytics: Why James Harden and Daryl Morey were always destined to implode]

And it was a risk. The last stars to change teams via free agency were Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. Over the past year, there weren’t any obvious All-NBA caliber players available to be pried away via trade, either. Once it became clear that the Knicks weren’t going to let OG Anunoby walk, the Sixers were down to one option: convince Paul George to leave Los Angeles. If that failed, Morey would be forced to roll things over again and convince Sixers ownership, fans and Joel Embiid to continue being patient. It would have led to the Sixers entering the season on shaky ground, and Morey opening himself up to all sorts of criticism and questions. 

Well, neither he nor the Sixers have to worry about that anymore. On Monday, at 3:30 a.m. ET, Morey’s approach and patience was rewarded. The Sixers and George agreed to terms on a four-year, $212 million contract — the maximum amount and years allowed. And ironically, it’s the Clippers’ austerity in the face of the new CBA that has allowed Morey to pull this off.

The Sixers now have all the ingredients Morey believes make up a contender. Embiid, when on the court (more on that in a bit), is as good as anyone. Maxey is an electric scorer at the point who has great chemistry with Embiid, and, at the age of 23, is already a top-30 player, if not better. And George, a top-20 guy, now becomes the ultimate connector. He also gives the Embiid-led Sixers the one thing they haven’t had aside from Jimmy Butler’s half-season in Philly: a big wing who can both generate offense and hound opponents. The Celtics are still the favorite to come out of the East and win the finals, but with George on the roster, the Sixers now join the Knicks as legitimate threats. (Side note: How fun is the East going to be next season with these three teams battling it out?!)

It would be shocking — and a sign of something going wrong — if the Sixers don’t end up with a top-five offense. Embiid is an unstoppable force, and he’s now teaming up with two players who are elite on and off the ball. George last year shot 45.4% on catch-and-shoot triples and ranked in the 94th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, per NBA Advanced Stats. Maxey drilled 44.4% of his catch-and-shoot attempts and ranked in the 87th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. Combine all those versatile skills with head coach Nick Nurse’s creative schemes, and you get what should be an explosive and unguardable attack. 

And George isn’t just going to elevate the Sixers’ offense. Since Ben Simmons left, Philly hasn’t had anyone to slot onto big, skilled wings who can create off the bounce. George’s presence means now they do. And, because Embiid and Maxey can carry the load on offense, on the nights when it’s needed, George will be able to devote his energy to that end of the floor.

Of course, this is not a contract without risk. Neither is Morey’s strategy. There’s a reason the Clippers balked at giving George the fourth year he was demanding. That reason is that he’s 34. Combine that with all the injuries he’s sustained over the years, and games he’s missed, and you get all sorts of big and bright red flags. And combine George’s injury history with Embiid’s, and you can see a future where the Sixers are playing half their games with, like, 60 percent of their salary cap watching from the sidelines. 

Also, while Morey might not worry about building out the rest of the roster, we have plenty of examples in recent playoff history of teams losing because of an inability to run out five players who can hold their own on both ends of the floor. The Sixers have already agreed to terms with Eric Gordon (honestly, it’s surprising it took Morey this long to sign this former Rocket) on a veteran’s minimum, Andre Drummond to a two-year, $10 million deal, with the second season as a player option, according to a Sixers source, and Kelly Oubre Jr. on a two-year, $16.3 million deal. Two are decent off-the-bench options; Oubre is a starting-caliber player; and first-round pick Jared McCain is highly regarded as a shooter. But no one from that group can be counted to play in crunch time. 

Which, of course, Morey knows. His bet is that he can find more bargain options. And remember, the Sixers signed George as a free agent, meaning they still have all those first round picks they spent the past year collecting. The roster we see in Philadelphia for training camp will not be the same roster we see come playoff time. And if the Sixers can bring back De’Anthony Melton and/or Kyle Lowry, they’ll be in solid shape from the get-go. 

But all those are worries for a future date. And Morey knows better than most how, in the NBA, a good process doesn’t always lead to the desired results. The Sixers do as well. Which is why this is such a big moment for the franchise. It might not be the ultimate result, but, for the moment, the process undertaken by a Sixers GM has paid off. 

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.

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