76ers: Morey Acknowledges How Tough Calls Affected Joel Embiid
The player-coach relationship between Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden and the now-former head coach Doc Rivers was described as “OK” by the ten-time All-Star. As Rivers’ job seemed to be on the line following the Sixers’ Game 7 loss against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, Harden didn’t say much to help Rivers’ case to stick around.
Joel Embiid, on the other hand, endorsed the head coach. Although Rivers once again came up short of his goal to coach the Sixers to a title, Embiid was complimentary of the head coach after the postseason finale on Sunday.
“I thought he’s done a fantastic job,” said Embiid. “He came in, I think we’ve gotten better over the years. I thought he’s done a great job. I don’t make the decisions. I think he should be fine. We got a great relationship, and you look at the way he handled the whole situation that we had a year or two ago. I thought he kept the team afloat. He’s been a great leader for all of us. A great motivator.”
While Embiid acknowledged that job security is tough to come by in the NBA — especially for head coaches — the star center didn’t seem under the belief that Rivers was on his way out the door.
Two days later, it was confirmed that wasn’t the case.
“My job is to evaluate everything, and we felt like that was the best move for helping us get to our goals going forward,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said on Wednesday after parting ways with Doc Rivers. “It was carefully thought out, and I recommended it to ownership, and they accepted it.”
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith mentioned Embiid wasn’t happy with the news that the Sixers were moving on from Rivers. On Wednesday, Daryl Morey confirmed Embiid was caught by surprise with the change becoming official.
“He was very close with Coach Rivers, and yeah, he was shocked about the change,” Morey explained. “It’s my job to help convince him that the new coach is someone that he’ll have a great relationship with as well.”
Morey described Embiid’s relationship with Rivers as “strong.” While keeping the MVP comfortable and happy is one of the Sixers’ top priorities, Morey admitted that some of his decisions throughout the year were difficult to make as they affected Embiid. And letting Rivers go wasn’t the only decision that affected the big man.
“I have to make tough calls all the time,” Morey explained. “Trades Joel was disappointed in. Some of it was he didn’t know the player we were getting in the trade, who ended up helping us, but he was disappointed in the players that went out. I think it’s natural to be very close with the people in the locker room.”
Morey didn’t specify which trade he alluded to, but the Sixers’ most recent move could fit the description. At the trade deadline back in February, the Sixers moved their standout defender Matisse Thybulle in a multi-team trade to land Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets.
Not only did Embiid publicly make a case for Thybulle to earn more playing time on numerous occasions throughout the season as the young wing’s role in the rotation was inconsistent, but Embiid made it clear that he didn’t want to see Thybulle go, claiming he brought a skillset to the table that the Sixers needed to keep.
“Personally, I would love to have him,” Embiid said on the day before the trade deadline. “I think he’s one of our better defenders, especially on the perimeter. We don’t have a lot of guys that cause steals or blocks, and all that stuff, extra possessions. That takes extra possessions from the other teams. He’s someone that fits on every NBA team based on his defensive skill set. I think he helps us a lot. But then again, I don’t make the decisions.”
Unfortunately for Embiid, two of Morey’s big decisions went against his belief. While Embiid might be shocked and reportedly frustrated due to the Sixers’ most recent change, Morey is up for the challenge of finding the right guy to steer Embiid and the Sixers in the right direction.
“We’re taking a careful process with the coach,” Morey finished. “We do not think it’ll move quickly. It is true; we’re going to look at all of the candidates, and we’re already very encouraged by the candidates that have reached out. We have an MVP player, we have a great roster that lots of players want to play with, and a lot of coaches want to be with, so we will look at that carefully.”
