In a shocking turn of events, former Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been hired as the President of Basketball Operations by the Philadelphia 76ers. Morey left the Houston Rockets after 13 years with the organization. His contract is for five years through 2025.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Philadelphia reached out to Morey not long after he left Houston and wanted him to lead their team. New head coach Doc Rivers has a strong relationship with Daryl and likely helped towards making this possible.

Morey is widely considered one of the best front office minds in the NBA and led the front on the analytics change in the NBA. Morey has long been a target for Philadelphia, often trying to lure him away from Houston in years past.

Elton Brand will remain as the General Manager of the 76ers but will likely now be second in command to Morey. This is a move process fans will love. Sam Hinkie originated from Daryl Morey’s front office in Houston and was considered his second in command before going to Philly.

Daryl’s best move with the Rockets was acquiring superstar James Harden from OKC and developing him into the player he is today. Winning executive of the year in 2018, his departure from Houston came as a shock.

With a huge offseason looming for the Sixers it will be interesting to see the moves that Daryl will make while in charge. With this, it is to be expected the Sixers ownership will no longer be involved in the decision-making process but nothing has been reported yet. Morey has been very headstrong on the small-ball front so it is unknown what the futures of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are.

Mandatory Credit: David J, Phillip