Daryl Morey's Paul George pursuit cost him his job

Two summers ago, Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey successfully executed a long-term plan to add a third All-Star while extending stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Two years later, that plan got him fired.

The 76ers dismissed Morey on Tuesday after six seasons with the club, which comes after the Sixers suffered a humiliating four-game sweep against the New York Knicks. One of the biggest reasons for his dismissal is the maximum contract Morey gave Paul George, who has been a tremendous disappointment in Philly.

Daryl Morey achieved his dream of getting three stars

After the 76ers traded for James Harden in February 2022, Morey started scheming, with some of his moves pushing the envelope of legality and ethics. Harden declined his $47.4M player option to sign a two-year deal for $68.6M. That big pay cut raised eyebrows and suggested that he and Morey had an implicit agreement he'd sign a larger deal later.

Harden's decision opened up space for the Sixers to sign free agents P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., both members of the Harden-Morey Houston Rockets teams. It also led to an NBA investigation for tampering and the Sixers forfeiting two second-round picks. At the 2023 trade deadline, the 76ers largely stood pat, even while Embiid was enjoying an MVP season, and lost in the second round.

The next summer was chaos. Harden accused Morey of reneging on a promised extension, then picked up his player option for 2023-24 and demanded a trade. Morey eventually traded Harden for picks and expiring contracts, clearing cap space for a big move. That came in the summer of 2024, when Morey inked George to a four-year, $211.4M contract, gave Maxey a five-year deal for $204M and extended Embiid for three years and $188M.

Daryl Morey's Big Three was a disaster

The wheels came off quickly for the new 76ers when all three stars suffered injuries. Maxey missed 30 games, George missed 41 and Embiid sat for 63 of the 82 games. The Sixers went 24-58.

The miserable season did land them No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe, but it's hard to credit Morey for building a terrible team with good draft lottery luck. This season, George played only 37 games thanks to injuries and a drug suspension. Upsetting the Boston Celtics in the first round wasn't enough to save Morey's job after the Knicks beat them by an average of 22 points per game.

The problem was that Morey went all-in on his multi-star plan for the future, but sacrificed the present. He repeatedly used the trade deadline to duck the luxury tax instead of adding talent around Embiid. Morey also played hardball during a holdout by Ben Simmons, a move that ultimately landed them Harden but put a huge burden on Embiid for the season's first four months.

When Embiid was one of the most dominant forces in the league, Morey was making long-range plans and cost-conscious decisions. Once he landed George, both Embiid and George accumulated too many injuries and mileage to be superstars anymore. Meanwhile, Harden and his Cleveland Cavaliers are still playing.

Embiid finished first or second in the MVP vote three years in a row, and the Sixers lost in the second round each of those seasons. By the time Morey truly went all-in around Embiid, it was too late for the team, too late to get the best out of George and too late to save Morey's job.