What a few months it has been for 76ers fans. It has been about 9 weeks since Philadelphia was swept by the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. At the start of October, things seemed very bleak. Mike D’Antoni likely was going to be the 76ers next head coach and it didn’t seem like any changes were happening to the front office. Flash forward 5 weeks later and the entire perception of the 76ers organization has changed.

All of the sudden, likely Hall of Fame coach Doc Rivers and Top 5 NBA executive Daryl Morey seemed to fall into their lap. The Colangelo leftovers are all gone or have been removed of any power in decision making. Doc Rivers has surrounded himself with an amazing coaching staff including Dave Joerger and Sam Cassell. 

Looking towards the future, for the first time in a while there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel. Fans no longer have to worry about the Sixers making trades that shouldn’t have been done or players not listening to a coaching staff that can’t control a team. The Process is over.

The Sixers window to contend begins now and there are 0 excuses. Kudos to Josh Harris and ownership for being able to put their money where their mouth is and make all the right hires to be successful. Doc Rivers and Daryl Morey are men who have had a lot of success in this league and know what it takes to get there. 

Morey might not have a ring but his resume is glowing. Speaking of The Process, Sam Hinkie talked about how this is a great hire for the Sixers and he has a lot of faith in Morey. Daryl pioneered the analytics era in the NBA and led the front in the small-ball revolution. His time in Houston never really prospered because of bad luck. 

Looking at his trades he never seemed to lose any of them. Daryl’s most notable was acquiring franchise cornerstone James Harden from the OKC Thunder. Morey was hellbent on finding a second star for Harden. Dwight Howard was the first attempt that never worked out. Chris Bosh was expected to sign with Houston but turned away at the last minute. 

Finally, he had the perfect match in Chris Paul. These two led the Rockets group that was the closest to knocking off the prime Golden State Warriors on several occasions. Paul and Harden never got along which led to Chris’s departure. 

New owner Tilman Fertitta forced Morey to go after Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and ruined the whole dynamic in Houston which ultimately led to Morey’s departure. Despite that Morey has definitely gained the respect of the rest of the NBA and they know how great he is at his job. 

With Philadelphia already having two stars, the main portion of Morey’s job is already complete. Now, he has to make a roster work around them which is nowhere as difficult as it was getting a second star in Houston. 

Rivers was a victim of circumstances in Los Angeles dealing with a lot of personalities and growing tensions in the bubble. Rivers’ star players were unable to produce in the key moments they needed them leading to the controversial 3-1 lead being blown to the Denver Nuggets. Rivers has shown on multiple occasions he is capable of running an elite team and taking care of everything on his end to make sure the job gets done.

With the stakes being very high in Philadelphia, I don’t know if the Sixers could have gotten anyone better to lead the charge in Doc Rivers and Daryl Morey.

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Mandatory Credit: John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) on Twitter