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Ranking Daryl Morey’s 3 Biggest Mistakes with 76ers

By Jason Schandl

Feb 15, 2022; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media at Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2022; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media at Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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2. Bungling the Simmons Trade

Morey didn’t draft Ben Simmons, so like the Doc situation you can’t fault the guy for what he inherited.

The bizarre Simmons holdout/injury/mental health season does fall on Morey’s plate though, but even if you want to place the blame 100% on Simmons for that ordeal, it’s still a blunder from Morey.

Reports floated around that the Kings had offered a phenomenal trade package for Simmons, one that was highlighted by Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and two first-round picks.

Sixers fans have obviously built up some resentment for trading productive players for future assets, but this wasn’t a case of blowing things up to rebuild. Simmons was not productive and Haliburton is looking like one of the most promising young players in the league.

Considering how the Harden experiment has played out, it didn’t even need to be Haliburton to be a better trade option. Just the knowledge that that’s the level of offer Simmons was still going to command makes the Harden trade that much more underwhelming.

It’s hard not to get frustrated when thinking about the what-ifs that could have been if we made that Haliburton deal. It’s also hard not to get frustrated with how the reality of the situation played out.