The Philadelphia 76ers are retaining president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse, Morey revealed at his end-of-season press conference on Sunday. Rumors about their job security swirled in the wake of a disappointing season for Philadelphia, but ownership has seemingly elected to give the duo another shot next season, when the team will presumably be healthier.
Morey has been running the 76ers since 2020, and he hired Nurse as his coach in 2023, after firing Doc Rivers. That duo came with significant expectations. Morey built multiple winning teams in Houston despite never tanking, while Nurse won the 2019 championship as head coach of the Toronto Raptors. The beginning of their partnership looked promising, as Joel Embiid seemed headed for a second consecutive MVP award in 2024 thanks in part to Nurse’s offensive tweaks.
But Embiid got hurt midway through the 2023-24 season, and the 76ers haven’t been the same since. They limped into the 2024 playoffs through the Play-In Tournament, ultimately losing to the New York Knicks in the first round, and then, despite signing Paul George to a max contract last offseason, struggled out of the gate this year in part due to further Embiid injuries.
As those struggles persisted, Philadelphia faced a choice. With their first-round pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder unless it landed in the top six, Philadelphia could continue trying to turn the season around, or go in the other direction in an attempt to preserve that pick. They ultimately chose the latter, shutting down veterans and doing everything in their power to fall down to the fifth-worst record in the NBA at 24-58. That gives them a 64% chance of keeping their first-round pick in May’s Draft Lottery and a 10.5% chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick and presumed top prospect Cooper Flagg.
Keeping that pick, whether it jumps or not, is going to be critical to the 76ers if they plan to turn things around. With max contracts now owed to Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, they badly need young, cheap contributors like the one they could get with their lottery pick. Now, it’s up to the lottery gods to determine if they’ll have that pick or not. Whether they do or don’t, though, Morey and Nurse will be around to help the team navigate this turbulent offseason and wherever it leads next year.