05/12/26 08:10:00
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05/12 20:08 CDT 76ers fire Daryl Morey as president and keep Nick Nurse as coach
76ers fire Daryl Morey as president and keep Nick Nurse as coach
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- The Philadelphia 76ers fired president Daryl Morey on
Tuesday and decided to keep Nick Nurse as their coach after the team was swept
in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 76ers were easily ousted by the New York Knicks to end Morey's sixth season
in charge, and the organization quickly decided that someone else would lead
the basketball operations department.
Sixers managing partner Josh Harris said in a statement that he and Morey had
spoken and decided it was time for a fresh start.
Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors general manager, will lead the
search for Morey's replacement and will oversee the department in the interim.
"To our fans, your frustration and disappointment are understandable and
warranted," Harris said. "We have fallen well short of our own expectations and
failed to deliver in the way this city deserves. That bothers me deeply and I
have confidence in Bob to establish a path forward for our franchise."
The Sixers went 270-212 in the regular season under Morey but just 28-26 in the
postseason, failing to advance past the second round. They returned to the
playoffs this season after missing them for the only time in Morey's tenure in
2024-25, when they went 24-58.
Myers built the Golden State teams that won NBA championships in 2015, '17, '18
and '22. He worked as a commentator at ESPN after leaving the Warriors before
joining Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment in October 2025 as president of
sports.
Morey joined the 76ers in 2020 after 14 seasons with the Houston Rockets,
including 13 as their general manager. The Rockets made the playoffs in his
final eight seasons and he was voted the NBA's executive of the year in 2018
after Houston went 65-17 and reached the Western Conference finals.
In 2019, he sent a tweet in support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong,
angering Chinese officials and wrecking the NBA's lucrative relationship with
the country. The Rockets had previously enjoyed enormous popularity in China
after drafting Yao Ming with the No. 1 pick in 2002.
Morey, best known for his analytical approach --- he has an MBA from MIT and
serves as the co-chair of the school's annual Sports Analytics Conference ---
failed to build a title contender around oft-injured center Joel Embiid. He
acquired James Harden, his former star in Houston, and later added another
high-priced veteran in Paul George.
He did well with recent draft choices Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, last
year's No. 3 pick. But he also made a heavily criticized deal this season when
he sent Jared McCain, a 2024 first-round pick, to Oklahoma City. McCain
averaged 11.5 points in the defending champion Thunder's second-round sweep of
the Lakers.
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