Daryl Morey receives contract extension that keeps him with Sixers through 2027-28 season
"I love this franchise and the relationship my family and I have built with our fans and this city. There’s no place I’d rather continue this journey than here,” Morey said.
Daryl Morey is determined to lead the 76ers to another NBA championship. Now, the team president of basketball operations will get more time to do so.
Morey and the Sixers finalized a contract extension Friday that will keep him in charge through the 2027-28 season. This extension aligns him contractually with head coach Nick Nurse.
“I want to express my appreciation to Josh Harris and David Blitzer for their unwavering support and confidence,” Morey said of the Sixers’ managing and co-managing partners. “Together, we are committed to bringing a championship to Philadelphia. I love this franchise and the relationship my family and I have built with our fans and this city. There’s no place I’d rather continue this journey than here.”
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Harris and Blitzer reached out to Morey recently about a contract extension.
The duo told Morey they wanted to keep him, Nurse, general manager Elton Brand, and star players Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey together.
“He means all the key people who are driving winning here,” Morey said. “I think Josh and David, again that was private discussions between them, said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a really solid thing going here that’s giving us a very good chance to win the championship, and let’s keep that together’. So they reached out to me, and it’s been recently just in the last couple of weeks.”
Does this mean that Sixers are about to announce an extension for Brand?
“Again, this is a group we will like to keep together,” Morey said. “Hopefully, there’s an announcement along those lines in the not too long.”
Morey had one season left on the initial five-year deal he signed on Nov. 2, 2020. At the time, Morey took over a squad with a poorly constructed roster, bad contracts, and spacing problems that made the goal of competing for an NBA title tough.
However, in three-plus seasons under his watch, the Sixers have a regular-season winning percentage of .653. This season’s squad took a 16-7 record into Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center.
One of the biggest moves Morey made was replacing Doc Rivers, the head coach he inherited, with Nurse this offseason.
Morey also dealt Ben Simmons at the 2022 trade deadline, exercising patience when the player became disgruntled and demanded a trade. Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks were flipped for James Harden and Paul Millsap.
Then, after Harden forced a trade, Morey packaged Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrušev to the Los Angeles Clippers for Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 draft-pick swap, and an additional first-rounder from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Sixers can use these picks to acquire an All-Star-level player to pair with Embiid and Maxey. The deal also allowed the team to retain roster flexibility.
Morris ($17.1 million), Batum ($11.7M), Covington ($11.6M), and Martin ($1.9) all have expiring contracts.
As a result, Embiid, Paul Reed, and Jaden Springer are the only Sixers with standard NBA contracts that go beyond this season. The Sixers intend to have enough salary-cap space available next summer to sign Maxey and an A-list free agent to lucrative contracts.
Morey also made an immediate impact as Sixers president.
On the night of the 2020 draft the Sixers under his watch cleaned up the huge mess that the previous front office created in the summer of 2019. Morey added much-needed shooters and swept away Al Horford’s contract.
Before the draft, he agreed to send the 34th pick, a future first-round pick, and Horford to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a package that included three-and-D player Danny Green. Then, he used the 21st pick of the draft to select Maxey out of Kentucky. Afterward, the Sixers packaged the 36th pick and Josh Richardson to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Curry.
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The acquisitions of Curry and Green helped to create spacing for Embiid and Simmons.
But getting out from underneath Horford’s massive contract was just as big. The veteran had three seasons left on the four-year, $97 million guaranteed deal he signed in free agency on July 10, 2019. The power forward/center could have made up to $109 million with championship bonuses.
Maxey, who was projected to be selected in the teens, turned out to be a first-round steal for the Sixers.
Before joining the Sixers, Morey spent 13 years as the general manager of the Houston Rockets, with the Rockets qualifying for the playoffs 10 times. They made the playoffs in each of his last eight seasons. Houston advanced as far as the Western Conference finals in 2015 and 2018.
The Sixers are seeking their first NBA title since 1983 and fourth overall.