Sixers' Daryl Morey Calls Out NBA Writer to Defend Joel Embiid

Ever since joining the Philadelphia 76ers' organization as the President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey has made it clear how highly he thinks of Joel Embiid. After tweaking the roster and surrounding Embiid with more shooters in the offseason, Morey's moves have paid off tremendously.

By now, it's no secret that Joel Embiid was one of the most dominant players in basketball in 2020-2021. Throughout the entire season, the Sixers' big man was in the MVP conversation since it started quite early on in the year. 

At this point, Embiid remains MVP-relevant, but his lack of availability at times might play a key factor in keeping him away from possessing the trophy. Regardless of whether Embiid is named MVP or not, the big man deserves other accolades, such as being named First-Team All-NBA. 

But if Embiid doesn't earn that honor as well, then Philly's President of Basketball Ops will not hold back from expressing his frustration. On Monday, Morey proved that much when he challenged The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, who revealed his picks for MVP, DPOY, COY, Most Improved, Sixth-Man, All-NBA teams, and All-Defense teams.  

"Embiid is eligible at forward despite playing 99.9 percent of his minutes as the lone big on the floor. Since he is eligible, I would love to put him on the first team to match my MVP ballot. That’d also slide Gobert up to the second team. But I can’t do it because it would mean removing one of my current forward- or guard-eligible selections for a third-team center."

To no surprise, O'Connor chose Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic as his MVP favorite, with Embiid behind him. Not shocking at all, considering Jokic hasn't missed games and even elevated his team after another star teammate of his suffered a setback. At this point, it's becoming clear Embiid is a longshot to win.

Although the MVP choice shouldn't be controversial, the absence of Embiid on the First-Team All-NBA selections clearly didn't sit right with Daryl Morey. As Jokic was listed in the center spot, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard appeared before the eligible Embiid at the forward spot, shifting the Sixers' big man to Second-Team and causing Morey to call out the writer on Twitter. 

Could the All-NBA teams play out the way O'Connor wrote it up? Sure. Anything can happen. Just last season, Embiid believed he was snubbed from cracking any All-NBA teams. While he's praised around the league as a dominant player -- he's also often criticized about his lack of availability at times. While Embiid certainly deserves First-Team honors -- anything can happen when the ballots are submitted. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.